PLANS to increase BCP Council’s debt threshold to more than a billion pounds has prompted calls of concern, with one member describing spending plans as ‘like a ponzi scheme’.
A meeting of the corporate and community overview and scrutiny committee on Monday considered a report from the council’s chief finance officer on the medium-term financial plan update.
As well as tackling the cost of living crisis and its impact on the budget, the report also detailed why the council want to increase their debt threshold to more than a billion pounds.
Read more: Why BCP Council want to raise debt limit to more than a billion pounds
Clashing with opposition councillors during the meeting, council leader Drew Mellor said the road-map for future spending, which could see BCP borrowings more than triple to £1.33billion, is investing for the future.
But opponents say it will simple saddle council taxpayers with paying interest on debt.
What happened at the meeting?
Cllr Mellor and Christchurch councillor Mike Cox, who says the council leadership is living in a parallel universe, traded arguments over future spending plans.
Cllr Cox says the council is over-reaching itself, is using complex financial arrangements to borrow which the chief financial officer, Adam Richens, has warned could be risky, and is preparing to raise debt levels which are unnecessary.
“This is just pushing he problem further down the line…it’s like a Ponzi scheme, to…
