Councillors’ reaction

Donald Kelly

Councillor Donald Kelly: ‘This was a missed opportunity. The budget could have done much more to protect the elderly and vulnerable within our communities. As I have said before, the council tax should have been put up years ago. I’m afraid you reap what

you sow and this is reflected in the level of service the public is now seeing.’

Robin Currie

Councillor Robin Currie: ‘Again this year it was a difficult budget as the contribution from the Scottish Government was over £6m less than last year. However, because of

decisions made last year and the fact that we had efficiency savings in place, producing a balanced budget was not as difficult as it could have been. I’m particularly pleased that we were able to put an extra £2m into the roads budget, £500k for pavements and £200k for commu-

nity initiatives to deal with environmental issues such as dog fouling, litter, grass cutting, etc.’

Anne Horn

Councillor Anne Horn: ‘I was disappointed that the administration did not support the opportunity to fund community empowerment in the SNP budget proposals. At a time when we seek to hear the views and participation from residents in our communities this would have opened up possibilities for inclusive working.’

Rory Colville

Councillor Rory Colville: ‘I’m very pleased that the administration budget – which prioritised funding to the Health and Social Care Partnership with an allocation of an additional £2.137m, was successfully passed on the day, a much greater extent than the other proposals. Everyone knows the pressure that the partnership is under in relation to elderly care, and the budget was our chance to make it clear where our priorities lie. Hopefully, the additional £2million plus now allocated creates some space to ensure communities get the support they need.’