Opinions sought on council’s budget

People can now review Selby District Council’s financial plans, as the authority fixes its budget for the next year.

The review sets out how savings of over £800,000 can be made including changes which would see people having to pay a small fee for garden waste collections and introducing car parking charges on Bank Holidays.

Information about the council’s current financial position, as well as a review of plans for the future, is available via a link from the homepage of the council’s website.

It is asking for people to comment on these plans, as part of the budget setting process over the coming weeks.

This consultation will run until February 1 and people email the council via [email protected] or write to: c/o Budget Consultation, Civic Centre, Doncaster Road, Selby, YO8 9FT.

The authority is battling to make £3.5m in cutbacks across its services as part of the Government’s austerity drive but it says continuing cuts in Government spending mean it again has to review its spending.

Comments made by members of the public as part of this budget review will be considered by councillors as they set the spending plans for the next twelve months.

Council leader Mark Crane said: “We’ve achieved a lot over by working in new ways to deliver significant savings and we’ve had a lot of success.

“But the pressure remains. We expect to receive a lower amount of council tax income this year – that’s because of the changes to council tax benefit. From April this will be a discount rather than a benefit, which means that it comes directly off the council tax income we collect.”

The council makes a final decision on the budget for 2013/14 at a meeting on Tuesday, February 26.