The cost of Oxford City Council being ranked as a weak authority has been put as £308,000.

That is the amount of money the authority will have to pay to district auditor Andy Burns and his team from the Audit Commission, who will plough through the accounts and advise on ways the council can become more efficient and cost-effective.

This exercise, which would cost less if the council was rated excellent, good or fair, works out at roughly £5.70 a year for every council taxpayer living in the city and is something every council has to undertake before July.

However, the final bill depends on how often Mr Burns finds it necessary to visit the Town Hall to carry out his checks.

The council wants to be a 'good' authority within three years, but has to satisfy Mr Burns that its financial systems are in good order and resources are used properly.

In March, the council had to hire a troubleshooter, because it could not recruit a full-time legal officer.

It was heavily criticised by Mr Burns for "significant weaknesses" in ensuing the legality of its major financial transactions.

The city council is still reeling from the embarrassment caused by its part in the costly Cornmarket Street repaving saga, which also involved Oxfordshire County Council, and ended up costing more than £5m.

Council leader Alex Hollingsworth said: "External auditors advise on both financial and corporate governance issues.

"By and large we have had a lot of help and input from the Audit Commission -- they are not just looking at numbers, they come in and advise on processes and policies.

"Andy Burns and his team are really professional. We do have the option to go to other auditors, but the charges would pretty much be the same."

There is some cheer with the news that benefit applications are being dealt with in half the time they were three years ago. Applications are now dealt with in about 33 days. In 2001-02, it was taking 80 days.

Council finance director Mark Luntly added: "The annual audit bill has reduced in actual terms and one of the reasons is because we are improving as a council."

A report on finance issues compiled by officers for the council's decision-making executive says: "One of the major challenges in the plan is that all local authority accounts for the 2004-05 audit year must be completed by July 2005 -- a month earlier than the year before.

"This means extra work in finance and other business units to make sure information is drawn together in good time.

"This represents a major challenge for the finance business unit -- and is a key theme in this year's business plan."