Which council services would you maintain or reduce funding for? The council’s on-line budget calculator is open till 11 August for you to tell us about the services that matter most to you.
Leader of 51³Ô¹ÏÃâ·ÑApp and Bute Council, Councillor Robin Currie outlined the importance of giving views:
“We all use council services. They are everywhere in our day-to-day lives. However 51³Ô¹ÏÃâ·ÑApp and Bute is facing yet another multi-million pound cut to its funding for these services.
We want to involve as many people as possible in deciding how best to use the budget we have. Thank you to everyone who has already told us about their priorities. If you haven’t yet, please do get involved and give your views.â€
Savings can only come from controllable parts of the council’s budget. Some areas of spend are protected by national priorities, such as teacher numbers, or are outwith the council’s control, for example inflationary costs.
The online budget simulator lists services where savings can come from, and gives options to reduce or increase spend by different amounts until the target of £10 million is reached. There are also options to increase income to fund services, including through council tax or fees.
Councillor Gary Mulvaney, Policy Lead for Finance Services said:
“We’d love to do everything communities want us to. Such huge cuts to council budgets make that impossible unfortunately. Community views will help us make the right decisions in what are very difficult circumstances.â€
The budget simulator is available on the council’s website at