Published on:
23
November 2010
Initial feedback the Council received during the budget engagement exercise is now available to view online.
Hundreds of people took the time to fill in the Money Matter questionnaires giving us valuable feedback on which services we can supply differently, which services the community can help to support and which services you value enough to pay for. The Council is finding this feedback very helpful in its current work to develop more detailed savings options to inform next years budget setting.
Council leader Sam Ovens said: "We have asked local residents, businesses, community groups and staff to engage and express their views and this has been a very worthwhile exercise. The Council provides a complex range of services and we need to know which ones are valued the most. It is reassuring to hear where we have got it right, and equally where we could make changes."
The graphs which are now on ClacksWeb show how many people chose 'for' (yes) and 'against' (no) specific service changes. The results show us what your priorities are and will be used to help us choose which savings options to examine in more detail.
The feedback shows that there was support for the Council to review the number of buildings it uses.
We are still analysing the many comments and suggestions you sent in, and will make these public shortly. We received around 1000 comments and are now working out which ones could deliver the savings we need.
Councillor Ovens added: "No decisions have been taken yet. The results will form the background to the options we will need to consider before we agree next year's budget. We will review every option. In this difficult economic climate, some of the decisions will be tough, but will be necessary to provide a balanced budget."
By mid-December further results and analysis will be made available, showing some of the areas we are considering.