Northamptonshire county councils catastrophic financial collapse, and the desperate measures it now proposes to balance the books, reflect management incompetence on a grand scale as well as the punishing effects of eight years of austerity cuts.
Less than six months after it was declared technically insolvent, the Tory-run council now faces a sobering reckoning for a reckless half-decade in which it refused to raise council tax to pay for the soaring costs of social care, preferring to patch up budget holes with accounting ruses and inappropriate use of financial reserves.
Over the next few weeks the council will map out where previously unheard-of levels of cuts will fall. There are no concrete details yet, other than a promise tha…
Read the full article at: https://www.theguardian.com/society/2018/aug/01/northamptonshire-council-forced-pay-price-reckless-half-decade