New council budget decided

Today saw a special budget council meeting take place, with councillors seeking to approve the budget and council tax for 2010/11. Councillors faced tough decisions, as local government finances are stretched by the recent recession. Council Tax has been frozen, and the new budget will see 2 million pounds invested in new initiatives. A major issue discussed was road maintenance, which also benefited from the budget, as the Local Authority counts to cost of the recent winter conditions.

Drug dealer jailed for posting cannabis

A drug dealer has been jailed for six months after being caught attempting to post cannabis and writing his own details on the envelope. Thirty one year old Jeffrey McLaughlin sent a package with 250 pounds worth of cannabis to his friend, forty eight year old Tracey Johnstone in Blairgowrie, which police later confiscated it at the sorting office. The court was told Johnstone was paying back a £700 loan from McLaughlin and was struggling to pay debts and so agreed to deal cannabis to give her a profit of thirty pound now and again. Johnstone avoided jail time but must carry out 240 hours of community service.

Tay footbridge no-go despite funding

A footbridge across the River Tay will not be built in the near future, despite funding being in place. The project won lottery funding after a public vote but had to be rescued by Perth and Kinross council after it emerged there was not enough private cash available. The strategic policy and resources committee said the hundreds of thousands of pounds needed are not a priority for an authority whose budget is already stretched to its limits. It was initially hoped the bridge would be opened by the Queen during this year's Perth 800 celebrations.