Residents urged to have their say on Gloucestershire County Council's budget
The local authority want to spend and invest £480m over the next year
People in Gloucestershire are being urged to give their views on the County Council’s budget plan for the next year.
A public consultation was launched in December to give key stakeholders, resident, businesses and key partner organisations the chance to have their say on the 2020/21 budget.
The plans - which total £480m - propose spending and investing in key areas like children's services, tackling the climate emergency, highways and the Council's continued response to the Covid-19 pandemic.
To generate the £6m to help fund services they're proposing to increase Council tax by 1.99%.
In addition to this, they're also proposing to apply the national social care set by the Government - an increase of 2.76% - to raise an additional £8.6m.
In total these changes result in about a £5 monthly increase for the average Band D taxpayer.
Despite the extra investment, Gloucestershire County Council says they still expect to have one of the lowest council tax levels of any county council.
The consultation closes on Friday 15 January at 5pm.
This is what the Council wants to invest in:
- £1m to make new school buildings carbon neutral
- £9.2m for a new special school
- £15m for the new secondary school in Cheltenham
- £11m for a new primary school in Bishops Cleeve
- £8.1m for improvements to the condition of school buildings and facilities across the county
- A further £4.9m towards delivery of the Gloucester South West Bypass
- £3m towards the £11.6m Cheltenham to Gloucester cycle route
- £11.3m towards M5 J10
- £2.7m investment in new and improved life-saving equipment for GFRS’ firefighters
- £1.8m to ensure delivering Broadband across the county
Leader of the Council, Cllr Mark Hawthorne, said:
“There’s not long left to ensure that your views on our plans are heard, and we’re encouraging everyone in Gloucestershire to take a moment to fill out our survey either online or by requesting a paper copy from our customer services team.
“We’re proposing a budget that we believe strikes the right balance between investing where it is needed in the here and now, and planning for Gloucestershire’s future.
"It puts protecting jobs and protecting our environment at its core, and keeps Council Tax levels among the lowest in the country."
The council continues to challenge itself to work more efficiently and effectively and as a result has also identified £7.6 million savings for next year, helping to meet increased demand and costs.
For more information and to fill out the survey go to www.gloucestershire.gov.uk/budget2021-22