07 June 2002
In one of his first political acts since becoming mayor of North Tyneside Metropolitan Borough Council in May, Chris Morgan said his overriding priority was regaining control of the authority's finances.
Blaming overspending by previous administrations and a lack of cash reserves in the council's accounts, Morgan said the real extent of the financial problems remained unknown.
Morgan, who rules with a seven-strong Conservative Cabinet, has already commissioned a health check from his director of finance. 'We do need to do a major budget realignment exercise. We will use that as an opportunity to direct spending towards our priority areas,' he told Public Finance.
The mayor's cuts come on top of £11m already shaved from the budget by the outgoing Labour administration at the beginning of the current financial year. Last year, Morgan said, the council overspent its near £200m budget by more than £3m and had 'negative reserves'.
Morgan said the environment was a priority for his administration. Voluntary redundancies have been offered to council staff and so far 104 workers have taken up the offer. This number is likely to increase.
PFjun2002
