T
he Council has today (Tuesday 10 October) launched its ‘YOUR Budget Priorities’ consultation ahead of its meeting early next year to agree the 2024/2025 budget.
Each year the Council must set a balanced budget and in recent years this has become increasingly difficult.
One of the biggest challenges is that the cost of delivering Council services and the demand for these services have both increased, while funding levels have not risen to meet these pressures.
The cost of ensuring that these services continue to be provided for residents in East Dunbartonshire each year is approximately £322 million, and current predictions suggest that the funding gap for 2024/25 is about £20 million. This means that ways to make savings or to increase income must be found.
Your councillors will make their decisions on the budget in February, but we would like your views on what YOUR Budget priorities are, to inform these decisions and to ensure that what matters most to local people is considered.
The consultation will run until Friday 3 November and Council Leader Gordan Low is encouraging residents to have their say on six key priorities.
Councillor Low said, “It is important that we hear from local people so that their opinions and priorities can inform the decisions we make to help us close the budget gap.
“We can be under no illusions – the public sector is under tremendous pressures, so setting a balanced budget for 2024/25 will be difficult. There are six key areas where we are inviting people to share their views: cost of living support, climate emergency, fees and charges, Council tax, income generation and savings.
“In economic times that are so challenging for individuals, families, businesses, and organisations, we want to focus on what matters most to our residents. This is especially important given the difficult decisions we’re likely to face.
“We would like to encourage as many people as possible to complete our survey. As a thank you, we have five food store vouchers to give away, and everyone who submits a survey form and includes their details will be entered into a draw to win one.”
The consultation ‘YOUR Budget Priorities’ is now live and will run until Friday 3 November. The findings will inform the Council’s budget decisions in February.
The survey can be found on the consultation webpage and should only take about five minutes to complete.
Paper copies can also be requested via Customer Services or picked up at the Council’s Community Hubs, leisure centres and community centres.
There are five £80 vouchers available as a thank you for taking part and sharing your views and the draw will take place after the consultation closes on 3 November.