WEYMOUTH and Portland Borough Council chiefs today warned that a radical overhaul is still needed to tackle its ongoing financial crisis.

They warned that unless some very difficult decisions aremade the council could stumble from one year to the next, with ever-increasing Council tax bills and service cuts.

Residents already faced with a big hike in council tax bills, some of the most expensive car parking charges in the region and escalating harbour fees, can expect a new 'culture of change' that might see some of the borough's assets and services being sold off, part-privatised or axed altogether.

Weymouth beach could even join the Cornwall surfing haven of Fistral beach at Newquay and become the subject of a private-public partnership, whereby a company runs the facilities in a bid to attract more people to the seaside and transform the resort's traditional bucket and spade image.

Council officers say the authority can no longer plod on from year to year losing money, forcing councillors into the difficult position of scratching around for savings and increasing the council tax. They have now working on a new plan which is designed to get the borough's house in order over five years.

This medium term financial plan - a financial forecast of the costs of providing the council's services and the likely resources available - has already identified a budget shortfall next year which could be as much as £1.9 million. Increased pension costs, spending on the homeless, pay awards, recycling programmes and the council's new responsibility for licensing law will all contribute to the shortfall.

At the same time, head of finance Jason Vaughan has drawn up a financial strategy detailing the options available for saving money over the next few years.

The strategy suggests in a report to tomorrow's meeting of the management committee that £1 million of efficiency savings can be built into the medium-term plan by making better use of IT, increasing productivity, improving debt recovery and saving on fuel costs. Redundancies could also be an option.

Tourism

Looking at the various services the council provides, councillors will have to consider, for example, whether they want to axe the holiday guide, shut down the popular tourism promotion and marketing unit, terminate its highway agency role and only provide statutory services in environmental health.

Mr Vaughan also details an option he calls alternative service delivery, where services currently handled by the council could be provided through a partnership agreement or handed over to a private company. This could affect things like the Pavilion, swimming pool, inner harbour, tourism development, the Esplanade and seafront and debt recovery.

Plans to sell the harbour to a private company have previously been met with an angry response from some councillors.They fear there would be a hike in fees for residents and berths being sold to the highest bidder.

Another option councillors will have to study is money generated from the assets the council owns and whether they think the authority is getting the best return on them.

Further increases in car parking and harbour charges is likely to be met with a barrage of criticism.

Council tax is another area which will have to be monitored closely. The income generated from the council tax is £4.3 million in the current year and councillors are recommended to consider developing a policy on council tax increases for the next five years.

Councillors will be given the first opportunity to comment on the plans at the management committee meeting.

They will also approve a budget-setting timetable which allows for workshops and different scrutiny committees to discuss the issues.

Meanwhile, the committee will hear that there has been a significant improvement in the council's finances this year, with savings on the beach tourism budgets, increased income from the car parking and harbour budgets and a £25,000 improvement in the housing budget.