THE council has asked the Wee County public for help as it braces itself for government- imposed budget cuts.

 

Public sector budgets across the country are expected to be slashed by at least 12 per cent over the next three years, leaving Clacks council chiefs needing to make at least £13 million in savings, or around £4 million each year.

Finance bosses are already drawing up contingency plans in anticipation of the cuts, although uncertainty over the size of government grants – usually just short of £100m per year – means savings of up to 20 per cent could be necessary.

 

An expected increase in demand on certain services brought on by greater life expectancy and more pupils staying on for fifth and sixth year is also expected to stretch resources even further.  
Council chief executive Angela Leitch has warned business as usual  is “not an option”, with charges to be introduced for some services, and others cut completely.

 

But council leader Janet Cadenhead has promised to support jobs as much as possible, as well as protect services to the Wee County’s most vulnerable residents.

 

Although councillors will ultimately decide where savings are made, the council  has appealed to service users to offer feedback to assist in making the “tough decisions” that lie ahead.

 

A  feedback leaflet – soon to be made available at council buildings and libraries around Clackmannanshire – has been produced which will explain where council chiefs feel the budget gap can be bridged. Through the leaflet, staff, unions, residents and community groups will all have a chance to say which services they value enough to pay for.

 

Angela Leitch told the Wee County News: “We hope this engagement exercise will raise awareness of the challenges the council is facing and what it means for public services.

 

“While we will all continue to modernise the way we work, there is no way that we can find these significant savings by making efficiencies alone.  

 

“We need to hear the views of those affected so that our decisions are well informed
and the impact of changes is understood.

 

“Overall, we are confident that we will still provide essential services which are vital for the people of Clackmannan-shire. I’m now asking for the involvement of our customers and our communities on how we can best provide those services in a very different era to the one we have been used to.”

 

Cllr Cadenhead added: “We would like to encourage everyone to take the opportunity to have their say on this vital issue. We are committed to engaging with communities. We have a timetable planned for the discussion process and as we receive feedback we will keep you updated on the information we have received and how it’s likely to shape our decisions.”

 

The council’s total revenue budget for 2010/11 for all services other than council housing amounts to £119.2m. This is funded from Government grants of £97.6m with £21.6m coming from council tax. A five-year capital programme for General Fund services covering the years 2010/11 to 2014/15 has a gross budget of £36.8m, with £9m planned to be spent in 2010/11.

 

For more detailed information, visit  the council’s website, ClacksWeb or email comments to This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it

	25-07-2010 09:54
	Why does the county need so many primary schools within such close proximity to each other?  In the case of Sauchie/Fishcross, there are 3 primary schools located within 500 yards of each other, why not amalgamate them into one Sauchie/Fishcross school? This would save on building running costs, 2 head teachers & several other teachers/classroom assistants.

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	26-08-2010 13:51
	The council's streetsweepers were dropping a couple of thousand and it took a streetsweeper to point out to the single status team they had not added the points up correctly for the re-grading for that job, If he had not spotted this the streetsweepers would have lost thousands!

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