Given the recent comments made about the running of Common Good Funds across Scotland, I asked the City Council's Director of Finance for her feedback on the issues raised. With her permission, please see her comments below :"I have investigated this a bit further and the Council's position is that the Common Good Fund does not hold any heritable or moveable assets which is completely different from "One council (Dundee City) simply admitted it did not know and kept no record" as contained in the survey. I am not aware where the authors got this information from.
The Council's view has always been that assets which are held for the public good are held on the account of the department which operates and maintains them, e.g. Caird Hall, Camperdown Park, Caird Park, Baxter Park, etc. The cost of maintaining these assets is significant and is paid for through operational budgets charged to council tax. The assets are properly recorded in asset registers and included in the council's Annual Accounts.
If there is a proposal to either lease any of these lands or premises for a long period or sell any part of them, the Council would fully consider the implications and if necessary seek legal approval."