MORAY Council is urging the public to turn out in force to help shape the way it slashes an estimated £30million from its budget over the next four years.
Roadshows got under way in towns this week, to highlight to Moray residents how the local authority spends its £266 million annual budget and to seek input as to how the council can chop an estimated 11% from that total.
Finance officials at the council have put forward a plan that could see £7.3 million in cuts in 2013/2014, followed by an additional £6 million in 2014/2015, a further £11.7 million in 2015/2016 and then £5 million more in 2016/2017.
However, the council is not offering suggestions on what specifically should be pulled from its budget. Instead, it wants the public to decide.
Mark Palmer, Moray Council’s director of corporate services, said "absolutely everything" is on the table at this stage.
"The main purpose of this phase is to inform the people, and give the people the opportunity to tell them why it needs to be £30 million, and where the council spends all of its money," he said.
"It is very difficult to imagine that public services will look anything like they do today. They are going to look very different in four or five years time."
For much more on this story, including a breakdown of how the council currently spends its budget, see this week's 'Northern Scot'
