DRAMATIC cuts to council services along with above inflation council tax rises could hit people in Southampton next year the Daily Echo can reveal.

In a bid to balance a £5.8m funding gap in its £265m budget, city finance chiefs have proposed raising council tax by five per cent while slashing some services and imposing extra charges on others.

Drastic job cuts could also take place with up to 96 full time posts facing the axe if the draft proposals are implemented in full.

Among the service cut options being considered is a plan to save £55,000 a year by closing the council's prestigious Museum of Archaeology located in the historic Gods House Tower.

Leisure bosses are also proposing charging visitors a £3 admission fee to the city's Maritime Museum on Town Quay, which houses important relics from the tragic liner Titanic. The charges would net city coffers £75,000 next year.

Further cutbacks could also take place in the city's street cleansing services.

Four dedicated cleaning staff for the city centre could be axed saving £106,000, though that could mean more litter and other rubbish in Southampton's main shopping centre.

Three cleaning staff who keep district shopping centres such as Shirley clean might also be axed, saving £60,000.

Cuts could also take place in the leisure sector, with four football pitches and a cricket pitch at Green Park and two cricket pitches at the city's Sports Centre also facing the prospect of closure.

The city's libraries would also face cuts with some shut down permanently and others shut during off peak periods in a bid to save cash.

Other unpopular measures include proposals to introduce the controversial "alternate weekly waste collection" scheme to the city that would save the council £330,000.

But it is not just cuts that are being suggested in the finance department's report.

Inflation busting increases in off-street parking charges could also be imposed, with a 2.75 per cent rise equating to an additional £141,000 in the coffers.

The blueprint has been hammered-out over the past eight months by the city's finance team headed by finance boss, Carolyn Williamson.

She told the Daily Echo that for the first time the finance department have drawn-up a three-year plan for council finances in a bid to bring some stability to the budget setting process.

She added that all the measures have the support of at least one of the three political groups on the council.

She said: "It is important to highlight that this is the start of the consultation process on options for councillors to consider in setting the budgets and service priorities.

"This year sees the introduction of three-year budgeting in order to allow councillors to consider service performance alongside resources allocated.

"This process should also allow the council to plan and deliver efficiency savings more effectively - and move away from budget cuts as far as possible."

The blueprint identifies around £7.6m worth of savings that political groups on the council could make to bring in a council tax rise of five per cent.

However, included in that figure is around £1.8m worth of "wiggle room" for all three parties which would allow them to opt for lower council tax rises and further cuts or vice versa.

If the five per cent increase is agreed, council tax for a typical Band D property in the city would rise from £1,098.52 to £1,153.42 - a rise of £54.90p.

The rise would not include the fire and police authority charges that are raised separately.

Final budgets for the three political parties will be issued in January next year - with the final budget then due in mid-February.

The council is keen to consult with members of the public on the proposals. People should make their representations to the plans in writing by Christmas or by e-mailing spending.priorities@southampton.gov.uk. The officer's report can be viewed on the website www.southampton.gov.uk.

Read the full list of proposed by going to Daily Echo News Briefing pages

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