Lyme Regis: Call for council to pay off debts with savings (From Bridport and Lyme Regis News)

Lyme Regis: Call for council to pay off debts with savings

10:30am Wednesday 9th May 2012 in Lyme Regis

FORMER town councillor Stan Williams urged committee members to use savings to pay off hefty loans.

He spoke to members of the operational management sub-committee in the public forum to point out that their cash reserves were gaining little interest.

He said that the town council had £540,980 in investments and cash holdings fetching interest of about one per cent but was paying back loans – including £464,583 for the Marine Parade shelters – at a higher rate.

He warned that having half a million showing made it look as if it was a rich council when this was not the case.

“It seems a strange way of going on, when the council is paying heavy interest rates for other things. Our debts are as high as the money we have invested.”

Councillors were told that the authority is paying back £3,125 each month for its loan for money towards the new Marine Parade Shelters.

Town Clerk Mike Lewis pointed out that much of the £540,980 was already allocated in budgets for projects.

He said that the council’s debt were low for many years but that it had taken the loan for the shelters.

He added that the half million was incorporated into the budget.