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Concerns have been raised over the proposed sale of a council's "family silver" as the early stages of a plan set on getting Dover's economy back on its feet has been unveiled.
Dover District Council faces a £4.6million cash deficit from the coronavirus pandemic in 2020/21 and a set of proposals were put forward to its cabinet during a virtual public meeting earlier today.
The authority's administration is considering selling £1 million of council-owned assets to generate revenue, and considering borrowing money to boost Dover Leisure Centre and drawn down on its general reserves.
Dover council's chief executive, Nadeem Aziz, said his officers would be putting forward "measured" and "thoughtful" plans in the coming weeks to councillors as the authority seeks to avoid a "knee jerk" response from the pandemic.
On council assets, the district authority's opposition leader, Cllr Kevin Mills (Lab), raised concerns, saying: "I don't know where the cabinet has picked the £1million from and it's a potentially dangerous move.
"We need to look at what assets they are seeking to strip. We can't keep selling the family silver."
So far, Dover council has received around £1.2millon of grants from the government. It hopes to be given another timely cash boost after Local government Secretary Robert Jenrick announced an extra £500m for England's councils last week.
Cllr Steve Manion (Con), Dover District Council's portfolio holder for finance, said: "I do not think the Government's extra cash is the answer to all our problems, but every little bit helps."
On the recovery, he added: "It's a very dynamic environment that we are in. We need to be focusing on how we can recover from the situation we find ourselves in for the benefit of the residents, the council and community we serve."
A £2.5million support package has also been drawn up to help Dover, Deal and Sandwich town centres recover from the economic damage of Covid-19 while £1m worth of council-owned assets are being reviewed for saleability.
There are more than 100 assets in the council's portfolio, including its Castle Street offices, Dover Citizens Advice Bureau, Dover Leisure Centre, car parks, museums and industrial and agricultural land.
Dover council's deputy opposition leader, Cllr Pamela Brivio, of Tower Hamlets, said she was concerned about potential cuts to services.
However, Cllr Peter Walker (Ind), of Aylesham, Eythorne and Shepherdswell was less worried and said: "I have every confidence that Dover council's finance team will do a very good job at managing this."
On the regeneration fund, Dover council's seven-person cabinet rejected a motion put forward by the authority's scrutiny committee to use the £2.5m regeneration fund to help the entire district rather than solely its town centres.
Cllr Manion added: "I know the scrutiny committee mean well, but I feel they have missed what we are trying to do here.
"The regeneration fund is very much focused on our town centre rather than the entire district. It will diminish the impact."
A crunch meeting to shape the council budget for the next financial year from April 2021 to April 2022 will take place by November and is likely to involve Dover's 32 councillors.
