How is Canterbury City Council spending its money?

In recent times, we’ve seen councils go bankrupt and attempt to cut back and save money. That’s why it is important that they don’t spend money on wasteful things.

A look into how Canterbury City Council have spent their money in the first quarter of the year allows us to gain an insight into how tax-payers money is being spent.

The council expect to have a net budget just short of £21 million, which is only 0.5% higher than last year.

So far it seems that the council have spent their money more responsibly than previous years, where Hotel Chocolat purchases were made.

This still hasn’t stopped them from indulging in fast food in March, with over £220 spent on the likes of Greggs, Subway and McDonald’s.

It looks like the council went heavy on subs in March.

Even in January, smaller purchases like Scoops, which is an ice-cream shop in Whitstable, in which £14 was spent. But are amenities like ice-cream a necessity?

When it comes to public spending, every little helps, and even just the price of a few ice-creams could feed someone homeless for a day.

Perhaps instead of fast food choices, the council could buy cheaper options for lunch from the supermarket – or perhaps just bring their own.

Besides the food spending, the rest mostly seems like essential payments that will be used for the benefit of society.

Transportation Costs

Transportation and Hotels are another big spender but it’s not possible to fully understand their purpose without context.

On buses, trains and taxis alone, almost £2100 was spent, although buses were the primary transport method used and are the most cost friendly.

One way to avoid these costs though would be to utilise online meetings, like Zoom, over ones in person.

This could be debatable however, as sensitive meetings online could have security concerns as the council has faced a cyber attack earlier this year.

The attack caused the loss of some spending data in February, which makes it impossible to fully examine.

What do you think about the spending? Should online meetings be used to avoid paying for additional fees?

Featured Image: Google Street View/Google Maps