Council seeks public's views ahead of budget setting
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It is vital that the public airs its views about services before the local authority sets its next budget Highland Council has said.
The comments came after a new Accounts Commission report underlined the “challenging” climate in which the next local authority budget will be set.
The chairman of the commission, Graham Sharp, said: “There’s a need for councils to continue rethinking how they deliver services and look at ways to increase their income. For some councils in Scotland, finding ways to do this is getting more and more difficult as their current income doesn’t match demand.”
The commission added that over the past six years as “…demand for services has continued to grow, funding for councils from the Scottish Government has reduced by 7.6 per cent and is forecast to reduce further.”
And the council said the publication of the commission’s report reinforced the “urgent need” for taxpayers to engage in the council’s budget consultation when it begins in January.
Budget leader and chairman of the corporate resources committee, Cllr Alister Mackinnon, said: “Highland Council’s budget engagement will focus on efficiency, building reserves, increasing income and restructuring to enable a more flexible workforce, which will strengthen the local economy and protect jobs.
"It will only be with local information, choices and preferences that councillors will be able to make the very difficult decisions.”
