The Council has a budget of £152 million to spend to support the people of Clackmannanshire and we invest that funding in services such as education, health & social care and social services. This funding is also used to provide services such as waste collection, recycling and to maintain our roads, footpaths and open spaces such as parks.
Like all councils, our costs have risen significantly, due to a combination of inflation making the cost of providing our services higher, along with a continuing rise in demand for services such as social care.
The funding the Council receives to deliver these services is made up of 83% from the Scottish Government and 17% from council tax and is not enough to meet the rising costs we face. That means we face a budget gap of £11.56 million and savings are unavoidable.
Although we’ve already made significant savings over a number of years to ensure we meet our legal obligation to balance our budget, we still face a real shortfall between our funding and the cost of the services we deliver.
Despite these challenges, the Council is working hard through our Be the Future programme to transform our local economy and tackle poverty and inequality to drive long term sustainable change, helping to ensure financial sustainability.
The Council needs to prioritise services and budgets while continuing with our transformation plans. Even where we are required in law to provide services, levels of provision will need to be reassessed or models of delivery might look different.
Every year we hear from people across Clackmannanshire during the budget engagement exercise and it’s this feedback that helps councillors to identify what the Council’s spending priorities should be.
It’s more important than ever that as many people as possible take part this year and tell us where they think the Council’s limited resources should be focused before the difficult decisions are taken.
Officers have developed the proposals contained within this booklet and continue to work to identify any further options, as well as considering other ways of generating additional income to bridge the gap and we want to hear our residents' views on the suggestions before reaching any decision.
Making your voice heard only takes a few minutes and, as previous Council budgets have shown, it really does make a difference.
No decisions have been made and none will be taken by councillors until after the engagement exercise is complete.
Strategy & Customer Services
Kilncraigs, Greenside Street, Alloa, FK10 1EB
Tel: 01259 450000
Email: customerservice@clacks.gov.uk