City of York Council four-year plan due to be agreed

City of York Council is dealing with a forecasted £11.4m overspend next year

Councillors are set to vote on a four-year plan for York amid warnings of financial woes and possible staff cuts.

Reductions are planned by City of York Council to deal with its forecast £11.4m overspend next year.

The local authority previously highlighted rising costs in adult and children's social care as a major cause.

Its executive committee will meet from 17:30 BST on Thursday at West Offices in the city centre.

The authority has already agreed to raise parking charges by 10p an hour, which will raise about £145,000, and to freezing recruitment, agency, and overtime wherever possible.

Other measures being considered during the meeting include further car park price increases and beginning to charge for domestic garden waste collections, which officers said could raise between £720,000 and £1.5m a year.

A reduction in expenditure on highways maintenance and further reductions in ward funding will also be considered.

Liberal Democrats accuse Labour of causing the financial damage since coming into office in May.

But Labour claimed the Liberal Democrat and Green coalition managed council finances without considering long term implications of their decisions when they were in control, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.

Ian Floyd, the council's chief operating officer, feels confident the situation will be properly handled.

"It's a very difficult financial position but it's not one that we can't manage, I would say," he said.

"That will require difficult decisions to be made and a number of those decisions will require political leadership."