A short survey is now available online ahead of a key meeting to set next year’s Council Tax on 22nd February.
The survey is open until 5 p.m. on Friday 17th February.
The survey can be found online here – https://www.smartsurvey.co.uk/s/OurBudgetChallenge/
There’s also a document here – https://www.shetland.gov.uk/budget-finance/council-budget – giving more information on the background to the budget-setting process for the year, and some of the specific issues which are likely to go before elected members in March.
Decisions on this year’s budget will be made in the face of significant and increasing financial challenges, and are likely to have an impact on services in the years to come.
With reduced government funding, high inflation, rising demand for services and the need to maintain infrastructure in the face of high costs, there is increasing pressure on resources, and the Council needs to look closely at what it does and how it does it to ensure it continues to provide a high level of service to the community.
The short survey focusses, firstly, on the options around an increase in next year’s Council Tax, and then on some general principles which will help guide Councillors when they decide in March on next year’s budgets
Council Leader Emma Macdonald:
“We know that the decisions we take in March are likely to have an impact on services across the Council in future.
“As those get underway, we’ll be speaking to those affected to get their views, but in the meantime we’re looking for the community’s thoughts on a potential rise in Council Tax ahead of our meeting later this month.
“We’re laying out the cost to householders and the potential benefits to Council income from a range of options.
“We do understand that everyone is facing economic pressures at the moment, and we’re very mindful that as a Council we need to make sure we’re doing all we can to bring our spending in line with the resources available to us, so I’d encourage everyone to take ten minutes to look at the survey.”
