live q&a on council budget
Date: Tuesday December 19
Time: 7:30pm
Venue: Online
Cost: Free
Co-Leaders Councillor Richard Thomson and Councillor Alison Evison; leader of Aberdeenshire Alliance Group, Councillor Jim Gifford; and a representative of the Democratic Independent and Green Group will answer questions on their budget proposals and the impact on communities.
The session will be broadcast online and will be chaired by Aberdeenshire Council chief executive Jim Savege.
Anyone can watch the live question session by following this link http://aberdeenshire.public-i.tv/
Elected members will meet in February to agree a budget for 2017/18 but with tough decisions having to be made they would like to hear from the people who will be directly affected by the decisions they take.
In particular they want to hear views on:
- Pressures on our services;
- Investing in our communities;
- Increasing efficiency;
- Identifying savings;
- Council Tax;
- Income generation;
- The future of sports and cultural services in Aberdeenshire
Information about the different proposals from each of the political groups represented in the council and general information around the costs of services are available on the website.
People can also give their views on the budget by completing the surveys online. Links to the surveys are on the same page.
People are being encouraged to send in their questions in advance. You can do this by emailing shireviews@aberdeenshire.gov.uk, using the hashtag #shireviews on Twitter or by commenting on the dedicated post on the Aberdeenshire Council facebook page.
Questions sent in on the night will also be put to the panel. The session is expected to run for half an hour.
Jim Savege, chief executive of Aberdeenshire Council said: “We want as many people as possible to engage in discussions around the council’s budget. The decisions taken could have a real impact on communities in Aberdeenshire and the services that are currently delivered.
“This could be a change in frequency of bin collections, changes to leisure facilities, or even a rise in the cost of the council tax. Perhaps it could mean a substantial reduction in funding for local groups and you might disagree.
“This is your chance to question the people who will make the decisions.”