MONMOUTHSHIRE County Council’s finances are being constantly monitored councillors have been told, after a former bank manager said if the council was a client at his bank he would be calling for monthly meetings. 

Conservative councillor Tony Kear, a former banker, made the comment as the council approved its first ever medium term financial strategy intended to set out how it will manage an expected £34.7m shortfall in funding from 2024 through to 2029. 

Cllr Tony Kear described it as a “very good base document to start with” and “open and honest” about the Labour/Green Party run council’s finances but said he had concerns, including the timescale for reporting updates. 

The Llanbadoc and Usk member told the full council’s July meeting: “Would it not be better to move from six month reviews to three month reviews? We need to be on top of it and if the council was a customer of mine, at my bank, you would be on monthly reviews.” 

Cllr Kear also said it would be “open and transparent” for the council to acknowledge it could have to cut staff as the strategy shows it faces a £12.2m shortfall in the next financial year. 

Labour cabinet member for finance, Ben Callard, said staff reductions would be done “naturally as people change and leave roles” and that staffing had been reduced in recent years. 

The Llanfoist and Govilon member also assured Cllr Kear that six month reviews are “appropriate when they draw so much officer resource to do” but said finances are regularly reviewed informally and constantly discussed between him and top officers. 

He reminded councillors the authority’s end of year accounts for 2023/24 showed it finished with a £1.7m surplus which meant it didn’t have to draw as much from reserves as planned when it put in place on in year budget recovery plan. 

In response to a reduction in the council’s capital reserve – for large one off spending projects – Cllr Callard said that was largely due to its investment in the new £69m school in Abergavenny. 

He also said while the strategy has acknowledged reserves have reached minimum levels they have “stabilised” and said the cabinet view is funds are “best used to support services rather than putting money in the bank.” 

Conservative councillor for Gobion Fawr, Alistair Neill, said he was concerned at core services, including social services, overspending by nearly £5m in the past financial year. 

Labour member for Dewstow, Tony Easson, said the council should be reassured the strategy was supported by the governance and audit committee including its four independent appointees. 

Cllr Callard also said his introduction to the strategy would be updated, in response to Cllr Neill’s scrutiny committee’s comments, to reflect its position toward the bottom of the pile of Welsh Government funding, which he described as “a point well made and should be in there.”