THE first stage of East Hampshire District Council leader Ferris Cowper's vision of running the council as a money-making business has been agreed by the cabinet. They agreed to release funds so that a business development officer could be employed immediately. They also agreed that future costs associated with the income generation process should be approved on a project-by-project basis subject to the viability of each one. In addition the cabinet has decided to appoint a business enterprise group to kick-start the whole process. The income generation project has been born out of Mr Cowper's ambition to make EHDC the most innovative and creative local authority in Britain and to raise money from business ventures rather than constant tax rises. The council has already promised to freeze tax for three years and Mr Cowper plans to pay for it by making the council generate cash from services. Mr Cowper told the cabinet last Wednesday: "It has always been my view that what we have to do as an authority is to continue to improve our service provision to the maximum of our ability and to do so without simply dumping the cost on the council tax payer. "I think you have to be more imaginative than that." Mr Cowper said EHDC did not expect any increased financial support following the current Government spending review: "If we do nothing we are faced with the choice of slashing our cost base or whacking up council tax – income generation is a crucial component for the medium-term financing of EHDC." Income generation was not a natural function for local councils, he conceded and he praised officers for the way they were tackling the issue. "It has been a culture shock, but immense credit to the officers for the way they are doing it, it bodes well for the future," said Mr Cowper. In his report Mr Godfrey said the full year cost of the business development officer was likely to be around £40,000 and the future funding would be included in the baseline budget next year. He told councillors the initial target had been to raise £150,000 this year: "Based on current activity we believe additional income of £200,000 can be secured this financial year – which is £50,000 above the target set." "For 2008 to 2009 and beyond if the bid for the creation of an income generation team is agreed it is estimated that £1m could be generated by 2010 to 2011." But he warned: "There are inevitably significant costs attached to securing this income and a number of risks attached to this which need to be fully understood." He said a number of projects identified required some "up front" investment to get them off the ground. "Inevitably the use of public funds to do this carries some risk. The initial projects selected are considered to be low-risk. "As we aim to generate more income the risk factor inevitably comes higher as we will be entering competitive markets and providing new services for which we need to assess the market demand." He said the council's external auditors would be briefed on a regular basis to ensure no action was taken which could compromise the council's duty to protect the use of public money. Among the projects under consideration are advertising on EHDC vehicles and on its website: "As advertising needs to be considered as a comprehensive package, the progress of both these projects is linked to the upgrading of the council's website. "Cabinet has now agreed the website project and once this is completed we will be able to proceed." Cabinet members were told that a pilot scheme was starting in Alton to provide a bin-cleaning service after which a detailed evaluation of the market potential would take place. In addition commercial property investment was being considered, said Mr Godfrey. "The council meeting on June 27 considered the necessary changes to the scheme of delegation to ensure we are able to act as flexibly as possible to gain maximum benefit from the £3m set aside to fund property investment," said Mr Godfrey. In his written report he told cabinet members: "New ideas continue to come forward on a consistent basis. "Whenever this happens officers are examining the viability of each scheme and we will continue to take this approach in the future. "However it is important to do this in a disciplined manner to avoid a 'scattergun' approach which risks undermining the agreed way forward. He pointed out that the idea of setting up a lottery was already being pursued and the cabinet had already agreed to go ahead with an outline business case. Other projects under consideration include green waste collection, wheelie bin cleaning, energy rating, pest control, cemetery plot lease, private drain cleaning and cemetery flower delivery.
