The leader of Aberdeenshire Council has insisted there are “good reasons” why the authority has already overspent by more than £3.4million this year.
A review of the overspend – which involved each department providing a breakdown of their spending – was ordered when it first emerged the authority was millions over budget for 2016/17 already.
It revealed that the education service’s success in hiring more teachers, combined with a national pay increase of 1.5%, has resulted in the department being £2.7million over budget.
And the cost of collecting and disposing of taxpayer waste across the north-east is rising due to landfill costs.
The local authority’s policy and resources committee will be asked to consider the actions already being taken to balance the books when they meet this week.
In a report to the committee Ritchie Johnson, the authority’s business service’s chief, states: “As a result of employing more teachers than originally budgeted for there will be a financial pressure on the teachers’ budget lines, however the greater benefit of recruiting high quality permanent teachers is to be welcomed.”
Mr Johnson’s report also reveals that the cost of operating the council’s Woodhill House HQ is £300,000 over budget because the authority has been unable to let empty office space.
The administration is currently considering moving out of Woodhill House to a more cost effective base.
Council leader Richard Thomson said: “Clearly it’s a paper for committee that shows a variance in the budget.
“It’s less than 1% and we will continue to closely monitor it as the year progresses. I’m quite content with where we are in the year and the actions we are taking.
“There are good reasons for the overspend – including hiring more teachers.”
Democratic Independent and Green Group (Digg) councillor Paul Johnston said: “The biggest fluctuation is in permanent teachers – it’s down to a teacher pay increase that is out of our control.
“These fluctuations are why we have reserves.”
Mr Johnston added that he will question council officers as to why the cost of collecting waste and recycling has been underestimated.
