Clock ticking for your ideas on Powys savings

Time is ticking by to have your say on the way Powys County Council allocates and spends its budget.

Residents in the Welshpool area are being reminded they have just over two weeks to comment how the county council reduces spending by £22m over three financial years with an online budget balancing exercise.

The online consultation exercise, which started on Monday (December 19) and runs to the January 15, sets out a range of options that could be used to generate savings over the coming three financial years.

Residents can show their support for services by increasing or decreasing funding support and seeing the impact on the service and council’s overall budget.

Councillor Wynne Jones, Cabinet Member for Finance said; “The council has to produce a balanced budget. This is an opportunity for residents to see the challenges we face and show their support for service areas by allocating money to one area balanced with a reduction from another.

“We introduced the budget simulator last year using projected figures for a three year period, this time we are looking at the period 2017/18 to 2019/20 and showing the impact of a decisions on the overall budget. There will be elements that look familiar to residents but the exercise will help the council identify priorities for the coming years. 

“A new element this year is an opportunity to express a view on the level of council tax and the scale of future increases. Our long term budget plans are based on an assumed increase of at least 3.75%

“For residents who want to complete the budget simulator but may have no or limited broadband access at home, all the branch libraries have a link to the exercise. Some drop in sessions have been organised to support communities where there are known broadband connection issues, including one at Llanfair Caereinion library on Tuesday, 3 January between 10am and 12noon.

“The information provided by residents will prove valuable information for both the cabinet and the council, as it will show where residents think the savings should be made, in order to achieve the £22m target,” he added.

The budget simulator will be on the council’s website under the ‘Have Your Say’