Welshpool town councillors have warned a lack of communication between committees has left them operating in a "financial vaccuum".

At a meeting of the council’s tourism and events committee, held on April 10, an agenda item on potentially booking dancers for a Caribbean Carnival this summer developed into a larger conversation about the committee’s finances and the information on them.

An item that suggested booking extra dancers to participate in the carnival and parade, scheduled to be held in Welshpool on June 23, led to discussions on the committee’s ability to make decisions as councillors were uncertain over how much money they had to work with.

Cllr Phil Owen said: “The way in which we deal with the budget probably needs looking at. There should be a budget committee that looks at any deficit, the expected income and sets a budget for various committees and council functions for the next 12 months.

“The committees like ours that probably have a lot of flexibility as we’re planning things that aren’t regular events, aren’t fully sure of what we are working with. We need to know what plans we can pursue, as opposed to at the moment when we’re operating in a financial vacuum.”

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Cllr Billy Spencer agreed, adding: “I’m so passionate about events in Welshpool, but I want it noted that as a representative for Welshpool we cannot do this if we don’t know where we stand. The amount of arguments in this chamber that come from a lack of communication speaks for itself.

“For the amount of things we put on, this committee doesn’t seem to have enough money. The main thing the townspeople see is the events, things they can bring children and families to. Moving forward I think it’s important to say what amount of money we have and the allocated funds for each event.

“There’s many great ideas, but approving them is an impossible challenge as we’re going in blind.”

Cllr Chris Davies noted that with two new events scheduled for 2024, he felt the committee lacked a written record of how much money they were able to put towards each new event.

Cllr Morag Bailey added: “How can we make a decision over whether to engage this or not when another committee might tell us afterwards whether we’re over budget or no?

“We should be able to see the bottom line, what’s gone in, what’s gone out and what we have left to spend.”