Moray Council needs to take drastic action to bring it back from the brink of ‘bankruptcy’. A full council meeting last week revealed the council budget had a shortfall of £7.4m and was facing a possible bill of up to £27m for a flood-alleviation scheme, as well as £5.6m for equal pay. Despite this, members voted 13-10 in favour of a scheme to build two secondary schools and a primary. The council’s chief financial officer, Mark Palmer, warned changes needed to be made on a ‘significant scale’ to clear the council’s deficit. Independent councillor, Percy Watt, said: ‘I cannot see a way forward, and as a council, it seems to me we are heading for bankruptcy.’ A council cannot technically go into bankruptcy, but Mr Palmer told the meeting the term was helpful in understanding the council’s current situation. The authority now faces the prospect of painful decisions over job losses, service cuts and council tax increases next year.
