Residents have their say on council budget
A MAJOR public consultation on Lancaster City Council's budget for future years took place last week.
More than 160 people attended public workshops and exhibitions in Lancaster and Morecambe.
It was the first time the council has consulted on its budget and the events provided the public with a chance to tell the council directly where they thought it should be targeting its resources in the future.
In addition to the public events, people were able to give their views online or via questionnaires. In total more than 300 people took part in the consultation.
The results will be published as part of the council’s budget process and will be considered by Cabinet on January 19.
Coun Stuart Langhorn, leader of Lancaster City Council, said: “It was great to see so many people at the public exhibitions and workshops.
“This is the first time we’ve involved the public and asked them to give their views on our budget and I’m grateful to all those that took part.
“We face an uncertain future in terms of the money we will receive from the Government and our finances have also been hit by the recession.
“The results of the consultation will give us a clear steer on the areas where the public thinks we can make savings and those that they want to see preserved or enhanced.”
Despite the severe weather the events largely went ahead as planned with public exhibitions taking place in Lancaster on Wednesday (January 6) and Morecambe on Thursday (January 7).
A planned event for Carnforth unfortunately had to be cancelled due to the recent atrocious weather but many of those from the town who wanted to take part did so at one of the other workshops or exhibitions.
Date Updated: 12/01/10