Caithness faces cut of £2.4 million in roads spending in 2024/25
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THE amount of money which will be spent on Caithness roads in the coming financial year is expected to drop from £3 million to about £600,000.
The £2.4 million reduction was highlighted by Thurso and Northwest Caithness councillor Matthew Reiss at the most recent meeting of the Thurso Community Council.
He said the figure for Highland Council in 2024/ 25 would be about £8 million compared to £20 million for the last three years. The decrease is the result of budget cuts.
His Thurso council colleague, Karl Rosie, said additional money should be provided to deal with the condition of the roads in Caithness.
Councillor Reiss also pointed out that the ward discretionary budgets are to be cut by 10 per cent. "The noose is tightening. We used to get £50,000 for each of the three wards but now we are going to get around £16,000 when we have two wards," he said.
Community council chairwoman, Thelma Mackenzie, said the funding situation is "pretty negative for us up here."
Colin Johnston claimed Highland Council is owed £31 million in rent arrears and asked how that could be allowed to happen when the local authority is having to cut its budget. "That is a colossal amount of money that could be used for something. If you don't pay your mortgage you can lose your house but it seems people are not paying their rents at a time when Highland Council is short of money," he said.
Earlier, councillor Rosie said the local authority is taking action to try and recover the money it overpaid to former staff.
He said steps are being taken to address the situation and to ensure it does not happen again although he stressed that the council has a pay role of 10,000 people. An auditor's report revealed that the council paid 593 individuals after they left the organisation at a cost of £863,000.
The highest amount paid to one individual was £57,067 in gross pay or £42,272 net.
