Members of the Smalltown and Dullbridge Town Council White Elephant Enclosure Mismanagement Committee approved the proposed 2024/25 budget on Tuesday , which will see the WEE given £179,400 of SaD residents Council Tax.
The budget still needs to be approved by the SaD Finance and Misappropriation Committee, which last year rejected the first WEE budget which detailed a need for £194,000 and, after adjustments were made, approved £170,094 which was funded by a rise in Council Tax and using money from the Council’s saving account.
This year it is highly likely that SaD residents will need to fund the full budget amount, as the SaDTC savings account has been seriously depleted during the current year to pay for the WEE and other BeFuddled budget overspends.
Speaking to Committee members Chair, Deputy Dictator Cruella Sherry said “Here we are then. The WEE budget for next year. Isn’t it great?
If we look at expenditure we can see that it is expected to increase by £10,000 next year, to £249,194. That’s brilliant isn’t it? Most of that expenditure is on wage increases for the staff, but as agreed in the recent Top Secret Human Resources meeting, we are also looking to employ a new Completely Unnecessary Team Member (Ed – Do NOT use this acronym) to perform the front of house duties when the current Smalltown Culture and Arts Manager (SCAM) is busy putting her feet up.
Does anyone have any questions about expenditure? No one? Great.
Now, turning to income you will see that we will be budgeting for a massive increase of £3,394. That’s great isn’t it?
To arrive at that figure we’ve plucked a few figures out of the air and increased each budget line by a couple of hundred quid, although quite a bit of that money we’ve put against rental income which will be achieved by putting up the prices.
Does anyone have any questions about the income?”
Fun Police Officer Councillor Patsy Knickers asked “I’m sure I speak for everyone here but can you just explain what you mean by expenditure? And what is income?”
Deputy Dictator Sherry confirmed that she wasn’t sure about either, but added “It’s a great budget isn’t it?”
Cllr Knickers agreed saying “It is a great budget. It’s really good to see that income is going up. It may only be a small increase, and it pales into insignificance next to the increase in expenditure, but nevertheless it’s an increase and it just goes to show how successful the WEE has become under the BeFuddled Party.
The Smalltown Culture and Arts Manager (SCAM) Susie Cookbook then confirmed that she had some great ideas to improve user numbers at the WEE telling Councillors “I’ve got some really great ideas to improve user numbers. But I’m not going to tell you what they are, because it’s a need-to-know basis and, as members of the WEE Mismanagement Committee, you don’t need to know.”
Councillors then voted to agree that the budget was great and to pa’s it forward to the Finance and Misappropriation Committee for approval. If granted then, together with any services taken on from the All-New-Yet-Unimproved Scrooge Cuonty Council, residents can expect to see their Council Tax increase by 594% next April.