Published on:
13
January 2017
The consultation for local residents and community groups to give their views on officer saving proposals as part of the Council's very challenging budget setting process is set to close on Friday (20 January).
The consultation is open online on ClacksWeb, and face to face meetings with key stakeholders and service users have also take place. A service user consultation event facilitated by Clackmannanshire Third Sector Interface (CTSi) has also been held.
While significant savings have been made in the past few years, the Council is now having to make extremely difficult budget choices in the face of decreasing funding, and is facing a funding gap of £26.6m over the next three years.
Substantial savings which will impact on a number of services will have to be made, and officers have put forward a number of proposals to help balance the Council budget with councillors making the final decisions at a budget meeting in the coming weeks.
Council Leader Bobby McGill said: "We've already had responses from a number of our residents and organisations, setting out their views on the proposals put forward by officers. I'd like to encourage anyone who hasn't yet got online to do so and fill in the short survey to let us have your thoughts and suggestions for setting a balanced budget.
"We know that some really tough decisions are ahead for councillors to deal with the difference between the funding we receive and the services we currently deliver. The views of the people of Clackmannanshire are an important part of this process."
The Council is required by law to provide certain services like social work, education, planning and environmental health. It also provides or subsidises a wide range of other non statutory services.
Council tax bills for the year 2016/2017 will also see some changes. The Scottish Government has introduced a new scheme to increase the amount of council tax collected for properties in the higher bands of E-H. Affected residents will receive a letter with more details.
In addition, for the first time in 10 years, councils will be able to increase council tax across all bands by up to 3% to raise additional income. This decision will also be taken by councillors at the budget setting meeting.
The savings proposals can be viewed on ClacksWeb where you can also complete an online survey. The consultation runs until 20 January 2017. Staff in your local council office can help you with this if you don't have access to a computer. You can also give your views to your councillor or community councillor, or write to Budget Consultation, Clackmannanshire Council, Kilncraigs, Greenside Street, Alloa FK10 1EB.