Cardiff City Council is in the process of drawing up its 2016/17 budget. Due to ever harsher funding cuts handed down from the Tories in Westminster, Cardiff Council faces a budget shortfall of £45.6m this year, after already having its budget reduced by around £100m over the last 3 years.
Cardiff Council is keen to engage with local residents and the communities of Cardiff about the difficult decisions the Council has been forced to make.
Last year, the Cardiff Debate was established as a three-year programme to involve people in helping to shape the future of public services in Cardiff. Cardiff City Council then undertook its largest consultation process to date – asking people from across the city how they think the council’s money should be spent and where they think savings could be achieved.
The online consultation document for the 2016/2017 budget proposals will launch on Friday 11 December 2015 and hard copies will be distributed to hubs, libraries, and leisure centres around the city. The consultation will run until midnight on Tuesday 12 January 2016. Following this, the results of the consultation will be analysed and considered by the Council’s Cabinet when finalising their 2016/17 Budget Proposals before consideration by full Council.
Local events will also take place during the consultation period. These events will give local residents a chance to feed in their views on the consultation, complete the questionnaire and give ideas on other ways in which the Council can work differently.
I would strongly urge all residents in Cardiff Central to feed their views into the budget consultation. This budget will be one of the hardest Cardiff Council has had to make, and it is vital that as many residents as possible have their views heard.
Information on the consultation events happening in Cardiff Central is below:
- Monday 14th December, 10am – 12pm Central Library Hub
- Monday 14th December, 11am – 1pm The Powerhouse
- Wednesday 17th December, 10am – 12pm Rhydypennau Library
- Tuesday 22nd December, 4pm – 6pm Winter Wonderland
- Tuesday 5th January, 4pm-4pm Maindy Centre
For more information about this consultation process, please go to https://www.cardiff.gov.uk/ENG/Your-Council/Council-finance/Council-Budget/2016-17/Pages/Budget-savings-proposals.aspx