Time for councillors to make tough decisions

Hello and welcome to this week’s edition of the East Kilbride News.

With a bit of luck, we should know how South Lanarkshire Council’s budget will be spent for the next financial year by the end of today.

The 64 elected members of this region will head for the local authority’s headquarters with they and their party’s priorities and wish lists while acknowledging that more than £15 million in cuts are on the way.

These pages over the past few weeks have carried details of what has been put on the chopping block, which services and facilities have been spared the axe and what is likely to be axed.

There will be readers and residents in East Kilbride and Avondale furious at the prospect of a three per cent council tax hike when wages have stagnated and there is already huge pressure brought about by the presence of other bills.

But there will be others happy to put their hand in their pocket, hoping that this money goes to protecting a vital service for those who need it.

It does look like there will be an end to the council tax freeze which residents have benefited from for many years.

But paying more doesn’t mean no cuts and the fact £15m has to be sliced off the 2018-19 budget is a sharp reminder of that; particularly when councillors are starting to look at frontline services when it comes to making savings. The politicking will give way to decision-making for which the councillors and their parties will rightly be held accountable.

As with all budgets, there will be winners and losers.

How things play out will make for interesting viewing and there is no doubting the fact that this is a major test for the ruling SNP administration.