Harrogate Borough Council is to carry out a public consultation asking residents and businesses what they think of its services.
The information will form part of the council’s considerations when developing its budget for 2015/16.
As demand for council services continues to increase, pressure on local government funding has resulted in a reduction in finances to pay for these services. Whilst Harrogate Borough Council has strong resources, the council’s Medium Term Financial Strategy has identified that approximately £1.2 million in savings will need to be made to balance the budget in 2015/16.
The council is seeking public opinion on the wide range of services it provides including planning, housing, finance, customer services and sports/leisure so that it can ascertain what it does well and what it could improve upon.
Councillor Richard Cooper, Leader of Harrogate Borough Council said: We want to provide the services that people want. With budgets reducing we need to spend every penny wisely. I want as many people as possible to take part in forming the next council budget. In that way we can provide the services people want to the level that they need.
The survey also provides the opportunity for local residents to tell us how we might improve those services. No-one has a monopoly on good ideas and we need everyone’s views on how to deliver more for less while setting a reasonable level of Council Tax.
The budget consultation is available to complete on the council’s website at: http://www.harrogate.gov.uk/cpi/Pages/Have-your-say.aspx
The closing date for responses is Friday 21 November 2014.
