Hefty bill for Dumfries and Galloway Council election

Finance bosses are recommending that Dumfries and Galloway Council dips into cash reserves to cover the six-figure cost of the local elections in May this year.
Costs mounted in the run up to the council elections on May 5, as well as staffing polling stations across the region and staging the election count at the DG One leisure centre in Dumfries the following day.
It is now being proposed that the council withdraws £3.15m from its cash reserves to pay a range of bills – including the £300,000 tab for the local elections.
Gillian Ross, the council’s finance and accounting manager, produced a report which will be tabled at next week’s finance committee.
She wrote: “A report to this committee’s meeting of January 27, 2022 indicated that the May 2022 local government election would require funding of £300k-£350k and that this could be accommodated within the budget pressures/resilience fund.
“However, it is suggested that, in order to retain the budget pressures/resilience fund in full to support the increasing impact of cost inflation, it would be more appropriate if the required funding (£300k) is instead met from the monies released through this review of reserves.”
Forty-three members were elected to represent the 12 wards of Dumfries and Galloway Council.
While the Conservative group gained the largest number of seats with 16 councillors elected, a rainbow coalition including Labour, SNP, and Independents formed to take control of the administration.