Your chance to balance the council budget

EVER fancied yourself as a financial expert or reckon you could do a better job than those currently responsible for setting council budgets?

What are your priority areas for council spending this year and where do you think your authority could be saving money?

Well now’s your chance to have your say and prove yourself as a local government finance guru with Rhondda Cynon Taf council’s online budget simulator.

Until December 17, the budget simulator will be open to give you the chance to close the council’s budget gap of £5.9m, and set the budget according to the areas that are important to you.

The simulator allows you to increase or decrease the amount of expenditure in areas such as education, children’s services, council tax and frontline services and gives you the opportunity to make your comments on each of these areas.

But with each decision made, a consequence for the service area affected is shown on screen and the total expenditure and overspend is displayed throughout the process with a constant reminder of how far you have to go to set a legally balanced budget which the council has to do.

The council’s initial predicted gap for 201920 of £9.9m was reduced after the provisional Welsh Government settlement saw RCT receive a 0.3% increase.

Over the past 10 years, Rhondda Cynon Taf council has had to save more than £87m from its revenue budget.

The council says it has five priorities for the future which include digitalisation, early intervention and prevention, commercialisation, efficiency and independence for people by investing in community services.

The council will also be holding various public engagement events throughout November including town centre events in Mountain Ash on November 16, Pontypridd on November 23 and Tonypandy on November 28, all between 10am and 2pm.

There will also be events at Llantrisant Leisure Centre, Sobell Leisure Centre, Hawthorn Leisure Centre and Rhondda Sports Centre from 5pm to 7pm between November 15 and November 26.

Libraries in Treorchy, Abercynon, Aberdare, Pontyclun, Ferndale, Porth, Hirwaun and Pontypridd will also hold drop-in events between November 12 and December 13

To set your ideal budget and find out more about the public events, visit rctcbc.gov. uk/EN/GetInvolved/ Consultations/Budget Consultation201920. aspx