Issue - meetings

This report proposes a change to the current arrangements of utilising the York Pride budget to address the recommendation from the EnCams review to improve street washing to remove staining in heavy usage areas such as outside of shop fronts, at bus stops and areas close to litter bins, whilst also requesting £10k from this budget to support an initiative to tackle graffiti throughout the city working with partners.

Advice of the Advisory Panel

That the Executive Member be advised:

(i)                 That it be agreed to top slice the York Pride budget by £10,000 on a one off basis in 2008/09 to support the development of a new graffiti database which will allow partners to tackle this problem more efficiently and effectively in future.

(ii)               That it be agreed to top slice the York Pride budget by £53,800 on a one off basis to fund the new Environmental Maintenance team

(iii)             That it be agreed to top slice the York Pride budget by £30,000 on a recurring basis to continue to fund campaigns.

Decision of the Executive Member

RESOLVED:That the advice of the Advisory Panel be accepted and endorsed.

REASON:To improve environmental maintenance within the city including in its neighbourhoods and parishes.

Members received a report which proposed a change to the current arrangements of utilising the York Pride budget to address the recommendation from the EnCams review to improve street washing to remove staining in heavy usage areas such as outside of shop fronts, at bus stops and areas close to litter bins and also requested £10,000 from this budget to support an initiative to tackle graffiti throughout the city working with partners.

The report presented Members with the option to either support both these proposals or alternatively support one or neither of them.

Officers circulated examples of “tagging” for Members’ information in relation to the graffiti database.

The Executive Member proposed that the funding of the Environment Maintenance Team from the York Pride Budget should be for one year only and then mainstreamed.

Some Members expressed the view that other sources of funding should be used such as the Business Growth Incentive Grant and following approval by the Executive, the carry forwards. They also expressed the view that the Campaigns budget should be decreased to £24,000 in the light of this year’s underspend.

Advice of the Advisory Panel

That the Executive Member be advised:

(i)                 That it be agreed to top slice the York Pride budget by £10,000 on a one off basis in 2008/09 to support the development of a new graffiti database which will allow partners to tackle this problem more efficiently and effectively in future.

(ii)               That it be agreed to top slice the York Pride budget by £53,800 on a one off basis to fund the new Environmental Maintenance team

(iii)             That it be agreed to top slice the York Pride budget by £30,000 on a recurring basis to continue to fund campaigns. ¹

[Councillors Crisp, King and Scott wished it to be recorded that they voted against the above advice.]

Decision of the Executive Member

RESOLVED:That the advice of the Advisory Panel be accepted and endorsed.

REASON:To improve environmental maintenance within the city including in its neighbourhoods and parishes.