Local people have given their verdict on the services that they want to see council money being spent on in the future.
Nearly 400 people took part in this year's budget consultation, called "Your district. you decide", with people asked to prioritise various services that the council provides. They were also asked how they wanted to see the council saving money, as the council needs to find £1.8 million worth of savings in the 2010/11 budget.
The top priorities for residents were waste and recycling, street cleaning and economic development and regeneration. These results are the same for the second year running.
The council also asked people to say how important certain services, that the council does not legally have to provide, were to them. Economic development and regeneration were top of the list, followed by parks, open spaces and recreation and sports facilities.
When it came to cutting costs, people wanted to see the council look at new ways of generating income. They were also keen on seeing a reduction in the cost of supporting politicians and a review of the council's buildings and the rents and leases on them.
Nearly half of those who responded felt that the council provides good value for money, which was a 20% increase on the previous year. Residents were split as to whether they felt Thanet has the right level of Council Tax, compared to other councils.
Cllr. Martin Wise, Cabinet Member for Finance and Corporate Services, said: "These results are really useful and will help to shape our budget plans over the next few years. Substantial amounts of money are already put into the services that residents say matter to them, such as waste and recycling and street cleaning and that shows we are spending money on people's priorities. That's our aim, so it's important to know which services are most important to our residents. They've also given us some good feedback in terms of where they think we should be saving money in the future. That's vital information, as the council, along with so many organisations, is going to need to save considerable sums of money over the next few years."
Last year's budget consultation led to extra resources being put into waste collection and street cleaning, as local people said these were their top priorities. People thought savings should be made by re-organising staff and sharing services with other councils, so the senior management structure was reduced, with a staff vacancy freeze imposed. The idea of sharing services with other councils is also being progressed.
Click on the link for more details
http://www.thanet.gov.uk/council__democracy/consultation/your_district__you_decide.aspx
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