Shropshire Star

Last chance to have say on £22 million Powys County Council spending cuts

People living in Powys only have a few days to comment on how the county council reduces its spending by £22 million over three financial years by taking part in an online budget balancing exercise.

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The consultation, which started last month, will close on Sunday. It sets out a range of options that could be used to generate savings over the coming three financial years. Residents can show their support for services by increasing or decreasing funding support and seeing the impact on the service and council's overall budget.

Councillor Wynne Jones, deputy leader and cabinet member for finance, said: "The council has to produce a balanced budget. This is an opportunity for residents to see the challenges we face and show their support for service areas by allocating money to one area balanced with a reduction from another.

"We introduced the budget simulator last year using projected figures for a three year period, this time we are looking at the period 2017/18 to 2019/20 and showing the impact of a decisions on the overall budget.

"There will be elements that look familiar to residents but the exercise will help the council identify priorities for the coming years. A new element this year is an opportunity to express a view on the level of council tax and the scale of future increases. Our long-term budget plans are based on an assumed increase of at least 3.75 per cent.

"The information provided by residents will prove valuable information for both the cabinet and the council, as it will show where residents think the savings should be made, in order to achieve the £22m target."

The budget simulator is at powys.gov.uk/en/corporate/find-out-about-consultations-in-powys/budget-consultation-exercise

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