Accusations of “horrific incompetence” – denied by the council – have been made after delays to a new materials recycling facility helped push recycling services over-budget to the tune of nearly 350,000.
” We will be calling for a vote of no confidence in the council's administration because of the serious situation. “
Cllr Paul Smith, Hastings Lib Dems
The council has placed some of the blame for its troubles on Defra, for not giving it sufficient time to spend two grants from the Waste Minimisation and Recycling Fund.
But independent auditors described the handling of Hastings' recycling improvement project as “poor”, warning that “officers have several procurement decisions that were not within their delegated authority.”
Allegations
A spokesman for Hastings borough council today denied the Liberal Democrat allegations of “gross mismanagement” and rejected claims that the recycling overspend would bring about “hefty” increases in Council Tax rates.
The council spokesman told letsrecycle.com: “We have overspent our budget by about 336,000, with a total budget of about 200,000 therefore coming in at about 536,000. The politicians are trying to make a bit of a meal out of it – there have been some serious allegations made by the Liberal Democrats, which aren't all true.”
Delays
Defra originally awarded Hastings grants totalling 600,000 in December 2004, but the council was forced to spend the funds before March 2005.
The council lost 10% of its Defra grants because it could not spend them in time. Its new MRF project was then bogged down in eight months of delays because the building earmarked for the project was deemed unsuitable and the council's construction contractor then went bust.
”The politicians are trying to make a bit of a meal out of it – there have been some serious allegations made by the Liberal Democrats, which aren't all true.“
– Hastings BC spokesman
In his formal response to the auditor's report, Hastings executive director of environment and safety, Richard Homewood, reported that the overspend came largely as a result of having to store collected recyclables for the eight additional months before the MRF came online in November 2005.
Budget
However, Mr Homewood suggested that officers didn't help their cause by underestimating their budget for 2005/06 in the first place. Officers double-counted expected incomes from the sale of recyclables as well as “significantly underestimating” the number of staff and collection sacks needed in the new service.
Mr Homewood noted that a “complete review of the structure of the waste management team is currently underway to ensure it is 'f;it for purpose'”.
A meeting of the council's audit committee is to take place on January 19 to discuss the auditor's report, but Liberal Democrat leader Paul Smith said his party would stage a vote of no confidence in a cabinet budget hearing on January 23.
Cllr Smith said: “We will be calling for a vote of no confidence in the council's administration because of the serious situation.
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“Blunders”
“This amounts to the worst financial blunders I have seen, especially as it represents 10% of the Hastings proportion of the Council Tax. These are very significant sums and there are questions needing answers,” Cllr Smith said.
In spite of the problems experienced, Hastings council reported that the new MRF was now proving successful, with recycling rates hitting 19.4% for the borough in the third quarter of 2005. The council said at no point had material separated for recycling been sent for disposal.
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