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Green budget proposal for a council that listens

4councillors2015Sheffield Green councillors will propose a visionary alternative to the council budget on Friday. It will support jobs and those who need help.
The Green budget amendment also offers funding for webcasting of council meetings so the public can see what their elected representatives are doing in the Town Hall. It will also devolve more spending for decisions to be made at local ward level.
Under the proposals:

  • fresh proposals for green energy will lead to lower bills, more jobs and less pollution
  • new investment will help local authority schools save money by developing energy efficiency schemes
    more empty homes will be brought back into use;
  • thousands of the lowest-income households will get more help through a £1m council tax hardship scheme
  • more money will go to adult social care to services for older and disabled people and help ensure decent pay and conditions for care staff
  • residents in parking zones will have the cost of permits reduced.

The proposal addresses road safety and air quality with a city centre 20mph zone and a scheme to encourage low-emission taxis.
The Green proposals also look to the future with fresh proposals to:

  • generate revenue for the city such as from feed-in tariffs and new homes bonus
    offer more policing and services related to the night-time economy
  • make significant investment in public transport, cycling and pedestrian routes
    promote new house building on brownfield sites, protecting green belt land
  • encourage children to use public transport by reversing the 10p rise in child bus fares

Green Party Council Group Speaker, Councillor Rob Murphy said:
“This is a positive and forward-looking budget that will bring real benefits to the health, homes and pockets of Sheffield’s residents if adopted. Our proposals would bring a safer, cleaner and more vibrant city for all it’s residents.”
For more information please contact Cllr Rob Murphy at robert.murphy@sheffield.gov.uk
NOTES TO EDITORS
Sheffield City Council will set its budget for 2016/17 at its meeting on Friday 4th March 2016 at 2pm. Members of the public can attend.
The Green Party amendment is here
The full agenda is at http://sheffielddemocracy.moderngov.co.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=154&MId=6051&Ver=4

Topics: City Wide, Council, Disabilities, Education, Energy, Housing

There are 2 Responses to Green budget proposal for a council that listens

5th March 2016

I found the Green Party amendment on p. 25. Thanks to all who worked so so hard to produce it. There are great ideas in there that really could have helped make a much better budget even in the dire circumstances councils are in because of cuts.
It really strikes me his undemocratic the system is when ideas suggestions from elected councillors are not listened to because they are not in the ruling party.

8th April 2016

We will hopefully get more Green councillors to hold the council to account if nothing else in the next elections. Labour seem to genuinely not give a toss about safeguarding or the management of the library service. They are letting volunteers without DBS checks undertake tasks in libraries incuding working with children and even the Safeguarding Lead role. Bus drivers, taxi drivers and even some office workers are subject to DBS checks in the name of safeguarding. It would be good practice after what happened in Rotherham to have a DBS check undertaken for each volunteer and a paid member of staff in each volunteer library to support them .