Cash-strapped Town Council ‘not about to go bankrupt’

Welshpool Town Council is not about to go bankrupt, councillors have been assured, following a staggering revelation last week that it needed a cash advance from Powys County Council to pay its bills.

The cash-strapped council was thrown into disarray last week after Finance Officer Vanessa Voysey revealed the dire situation, with her emergency call to the county council treasury ensuring a three-week advance on the precept it receives from the council tax saved the day.

And last night, the Chair of the Strategy, Policy and Development Committee, Cllr Alison Davies, who is a former Mayor, assured the chamber that the books were balanced.

In a response to Cllr Estelle Bleivas asking about finances, Cllr Davies responded: “We were not in a position where we had no money. It was cash flow, which was a short period of a couple of weeks which was resolved. We do not have a problem. We are not about to go down the Swanee. We just had an issue about cash flow over some invoices coming in at the same time. It was cash flow, not poverty.”

Officers are in the process of setting the town's precept which is the section of the council tax that goes to Welshpool Town Council's operating costs. The town currently pays the second highest council tax in Powys, behind Machynlleth.

You can read our original story on the revelation here.