Dragon Interview: Lead Councillor Explains GBC’s Draft Budget for 2022-2023

Published on: 26 Nov, 2021
Updated on: 29 Nov, 2021

Cllr Tim Anderson

Money might be the root of all evil but it is also the resource that governments, at all levels, need to supply what they decide their communities need.

But there are lean times at Guildford Borough Council. A combination of vanishing government grants and the Covid pandemic have presented unprecedented challenges and councillors are faced with severe constraints and difficult choices.

Meanwhile, there are concerns about what this will mean for vulnerable areas of the budget such as heritage and culture.

See below charts, supplied by GBC, showing the reduction in government funding, the council’s revenue streams and spending.

In this interview with Dragon editor Martin Giles, Cllr Tim Anderson (R4GV, Clandon & Horsley) the lead councillor for Resources, responsible for overseeing financial management, explains the approach of his team as laid out in the draft budget for next year, approved at this week’s Executive meeting (Tuesday, November 23), and where the axe might fall.