Public to be asked for views on council spending priorities
Edinburgh residents will be asked which council services should be “reduced” or scrapped entirely in the face of increasingly strained budgets.
Engagement with the public on local authority spending is set to kick off next month and will also seek ideas for how the council could save cash.
City leaders say the process will help to shape budget decisions over the next few years.
Edinburgh City Council is facing a projected deficit of £150 million in the next five years and “growing demand for services which exceeds the funding available to provide those services,” a report said.
Through a series of surveys, focus groups and workshops – which will cost around £60,000 to administer – the authority hopes to capture the “views and priorities of Edinburgh’s diverse residents”.
The first phase, set to be agreed this week at the policy and sustainability committee , will be a short questionnaire.
This will ask residents ‘what is going on in your neighbourhood that the council should pay more attention to?’ and ‘where do you think the council has done well in the last year?’.
Other proposed questions are ‘what ideas do you have for how the council could save money?’ and ‘in order to save money, what service that you receive could the council reduce or stop providing?’.
The questionnaire will run online and in drop-in sessions in libraries and community centres over 16 weeks from April 2.
The report said: “As part of phase one, the council will communicate its overall budget position and strategic priorities to residents, setting out what the council seeks to achieve for Edinburgh.
“Results from phase one will be reported to committee alongside more detailed proposals for phase two. Results will also be reported to Trade Unions. These results will show what priorities residents expressed, where we are seen as succeeding, public suggestions for change, and any problems resolved through normal systems.
“Results will be communicated internally to the Senior Leadership Team and Council Leadership Team to assist with the preparation of budget options.”