Museum pressure at budget meeting (From Oxford Mail)

Museum pressure at budget meeting

6:39pm Sunday 15th February 2009 in

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Campaigners working to save the Museum of Oxford will present a 1,000-signature petition to city councillors before the authority’s annual budget-setting meeting tomorrow.

The council’s minority Labour administration has agreed to spend £90,000 to keep the museum open until next year.

However, campaigners want to ensure the plan wins enough votes from opposition councillors, who will have a big say in what measures are included in the authority’s spending plans for 2009-10.

The petition will be presented by the chairman of Oxford Civic Society, Tony Joyce, who has played a leading role in efforts to keep open the musuem in St Aldate’s.

He said: “We’re very pleased so many visitors to the museum feel so strongly they want this to stay open.”

Discussions will also centre around the future of Oxford’s community centres after it emerged the council was ending grants that cover business rates for 22 of the centres.

The revelation has caused anger, because it has been suggested the decision could force the closure of centres because community associations — which are mainly staffed by volunteers — may no longer be able to afford the running costs of the buildings if they have to pay the rates bills as well.

The council has claimed it had no choice but to make the estimated £25,000 saving.

Also tonight, the city council’s share of the final council tax bill in April will be fixed.

However, the cash-strapped Town Hall cannot increase its share of the bill by more than five per cent, the level at which the Government has said it would cap any proposed increase for the coming financial year.

The meeting starts at 5pm tomorrow at Oxford Town Hall, in St Aldate’s.