Aberdeen's arts and culture scene received a much needed financial boost but it's drivers who'll pay the price after the SNP/Liberal Democrat budget was passed during yesterday's city council budget meeting.
Driving fines are set to skyrocket, road improvement projects face delays and free parking on a Sunday morning is no more.
The 2024/25 Aberdeen City Council (ACC) budget was a rather understated affair in comparison to last year's, with the effects of pool and library closures still being felt today.
In an effort to recoup £18m, ACC has increased bus lane fines by two-thirds.
It means those caught will now face a fine of £100 rather than £60. The Press & Journal revealed that 10,000 fines, worth a total of £600,000, were handed out in the first two months of the bus gates - the same number would cost Aberdeen's motorists a total of £1m under the new plans.
The Berryden Corridor will face even more delays after plans for the scheme were shelved in a bid to save £720,000.
Parking charges and parking permits have also been upped, raising just less than half a million for the authority.
The council coffers will be boosted by £160,000 thanks to the scrapping of free parking between 8am and 1pm on Sunday's, primarily in place to ensure free parking for church goers.
The good news from motorists is that parking at the beach will remain free, despite whispers that it may be introduced to raise £200,000.
Arts sector boosted
Fears had been raised last week that a significant cut in funding to Aberdeen Performing Arts may be on the cards, but the charity will get £710,000 from the local authority.
Sport Aberdeen's £4.5m funding has also been protected.
The city has also set aside £175,000 for the Granite Noir festival, which recently enjoyed an attendance of 16,500 at its events across the six-day festival.
The ever-popular Spectra lights festival, which draws thousands of guests into the city centre each February, will have £275,000 spent on it, while £22,000 will help fund the annual Mela festival.
A further £35,000 is to be spent on various marches and parades in the city.
And ACC has set aside £50,000 to help revive the Belmont Cinema, which has been shut for nearly 18 months.
The funding has been welcomed by Belmont Community Cinema Ltd, who in September were chosen as the council's preferred operator of the facility.
Trustee Jacob Campbell told the P&J: "Particularly in these times of financial hardship, we are delighted that the local authority remains committed to our Belmont vision."
Charity loses out
After controversy surrounding charity funding last year, when Big Noise were the ones to miss out, VSA has had their funding cut by £200,000.
The charity, which has looked after vulnerable adults in Aberdeen for more than 150 years, has yet to comment.
Conservative group leader Ryan Houghton described the situation as "entirely regrettable" and questioned whether it was an oversight.
He added: "Cutting money to a charity that does so much for vulnerable adults is not the right thing to do, it just isn’t.”
Council tax frozen
In what proved to be a surprise to no one, the administration, primarily SNP-led, froze council tax as per the Scottish Government's proposals.
It means they'll benefit from an additional £6.9m, which would equate to a 5% rise.
It put the administration at odds with the city's finance chiefs, who recommended an 8% rise.
Aberdeen Labour leader M Tauqeer Malik argued the case for the increased rise, but the council's finance convener Alex McLellan insisted increasing the tax would be "unthinkable" during a cost of living crisis.