HAVING digested Darlington Borough Council’s medium term financial plan I am forced to conclude that the council is in a serious and very deep financial mess.

For many years, the opposition parties on Darlington Borough Council have urged the ruling Labour group and the chief officers to build up the reserves, rein in expenditure and prune sensibly over a longer time frame. They were ignored.

Council taxpayers, many of whom are struggling, are facing an unacceptable council tax increase of 3.5 per cent.

Readers may not be aware, but in the period 1997 to 2009 council tax in Darlington increased by nearly 132 per cent.

For a Band D property owner £781 disappeared from their bank account into the council’s coffers.

Throughout these years Labour were in control of Darlington Borough Council and it is still trying to extract even more money from the taxpayers.

But the well is dry, there is no more taxpayers can give.

The council’s own workforce will be hit as well, through proposals for job cuts and pay cuts. The latter is particularly insidious in that if employees do not accept three days unpaid leave they will be sacked and reemployed on different, and worse, pay and conditions of service which is unprecedented.

The Labour group will no doubt blame the Government, because it is convenient to do so.

They will not blame themselves and that is precisely where the blame for this mess squarely lies.

Coun Alan Macnab (Lib Dem), Darlington Borough Council.