Still time to have your say on council budget

Still time to have your say on council budget

THERE is still time to have your say on Carmarthenshire’s budget proposals for the next three years.

People are being urged to give their views on decisions which affect their future, with a number of suggestions put forward from a range of areas including social care, leisure, culture, highways and transport, and education.

The council needs to save £8.5million for the next financial year – 2018-19 – and a total of £31million over the next three years.

All views gathered from the consultation, which runs until January 8, will be included in the budget report which will go before county councillors for discussion in February.

The proposals include both managerial and policy efficiency savings. Managerial savings are efficiencies that result in no perceivable change to the overall level of service delivery but could in some instances affect the quality of service provided. Policy savings are service rationalisation proposals that will directly affect service delivery.

Executive Board Member for Resources Cllr David Jenkins said: “We are urging people to take part in the survey as their views are important to us when making decisions that will affect all our futures. It is vital that we gather as many opinions as possible before councillors make a final decision on the budget.

“Our aim is to continue delivering essential services and continue investment in our communities within the limited resources available to us. Some tough decisions will have to be taken so it is essential that we understand the priorities of people living in Carmarthenshire, whilst keeping the council tax increase at an acceptable level.”

Extensive consultation on the budget proposals has been taking place including seminars for county councillors and town and community councils, a public forum, scrutiny committees, schools budget forum and trade unions meetings.

An Insight day was also held to consult with young people with pupils from secondary schools and students from Coleg Sir Gar attending.

The survey is available online at ilocal.carmarthenshire.gov.wales, just click on consultations, and hard copies are available from Customer Service Centres.