KCC announces second stage of DOLGE strategy
Saving money will be a council-wide responsibility going forward
KCC’s Cabinet Member for Local Government Efficiency and Reorganisation, Chris Hespe, said:
“We set up DOLGE to make essential savings and halt spending that was not delivering the best value for people living and working in Kent. We implemented tough spending controls and the authority managed to make significant savings, reduce long-term debt and set a council tax rate lower than in the previous 12 years.
“This is not about wielding a chainsaw or a salami-slicer, but about helping the authority to find and implement sensible, pragmatic solutions where efficiency is at the core.
“With the administration now managing its own budget, the DOLGE programme can shift to a more collaborative approach. DOLGE will continue to seek economies, identify savings opportunities, and value for money for Kent residents.
“DOLGE is about ensuring that the culture is one where all staff are conscious of all spend and the need to do it carefully, fully aware it is residents’ money they are spending.”
Head of Kent County Council Linden Kemkaran added:
"This next step for the project is about delivering.
"The first year was about creating a department of local government efficiency that could roam around this entire organization and find out where the inefficiencies were, find out where the savings were to be made, and work out how to do things differently without affecting the end point, which of course is us delivering services to the people of Kent."
On how this will make a difference to people's lives acrouss the county she added: "People in Kent will notice three major things.
"The roads are better. You know, we are fixing those potholes far more quickly than the previous administration did.
"We are up year on year on the previous administration's figures. They'll notice a reduction in their council tax. We managed to knock off 1% off of the council tax rise. I would have loved to have been able to go for 0% rise, but in our first year of inheriting a council that was in so much financial trouble, that sadly wasn't possible.
"What we did manage to do was find an extra 10 million pounds of in-year spend to allow us to not put it up to the full amount...So that puts us in a very unique position as well.
"They'll also notice that services haven't been affected. In fact, they've been boosted. We've increased spending across adult social care, children's social care, and highways."
Responses
Liberal Democrat deputy leader and councillor Richard Streatfeild told us:
"It's not in touch with the the reality of life in Kent.
"We have a demographic that is aging and that population is living longer and is iller than it has been previously and therefore we are going to have to grow to deliver the services of care that we need need to.
"It's a really important conversation. Andy Burnham has just organized cross-party talks. I'll be interested to see whether reform follows it."
On the council's savings he added:
"The previous administration had made failed to find over 22 million pounds of savings last year, which have fallen into this year's budget, so we're immediately behind the curve.
The idea that this is somehow stabilizing the finances when it's the highest risk budget ever, that is not a stable foundation for Kent to move forward."