West Dorset district councillors have agreed at Full Council today (23/10) to join forces with North Dorset District Council and Weymouth & Portland Borough Council as part of a groundbreaking tri-council partnership.
The partnership could save the three councils £6 million by 2020.
Both North Dorset and Weymouth & Portland councillors still need to agree the plans at their Full Council meetings on 31 October and 6 November respectively.
If all three councils agree to the plan it would see each council remaining independent and equal. This means each would have its own councillors, who would continue to make local decisions about services. Each council would continue to set its own budget, council tax and maintain its separate identity and sovereignty.
The creation of a tri-partnership would see a single work-force serving all three authorities. Office accommodation and ICT systems would be streamlined and shared to increase efficiency.
The tri-partnership would serve more than 235,000 people and cover more than half the shire county of Dorset.
Cllr Robert Gould, Leader of West Dorset District Council, said: “We have already seen a successful partnership created between the district council and Weymouth & Portland Borough Council, with this shared services partnership saving £9million since the business case was drawn-up in 2010.
“Councillors at both North Dorset and Weymouth & Portland still need to agree to the plan before it can be formalised.”
The plan for the tri-authority partnership has been drawn-up against the back drop of a very tough financial climate, with Government funding to all three councils being reduced by more than 50 per cent in the five years up to 2015/16 and more reductions likely.
