1:40pm Wednesday 23rd June 2010
By Alex Hayes
MORE than £4m worth of cuts are going to have to be made by Barnet Council this financial year after a squeeze on the cash coming from the government.
Grants to community groups and charities could be one of the areas affected by the cuts after the coalition government took protections away from money earmarked for them.
The announcement £4.2m in efficiencies have to be found this financial year was made by leader Councillor Lynne Hillan before a cabinet meeting on Monday night.
She said: “"Before we start to talk about the budget item I’d like everybody’s minds to be concentrated on the challenge we face over the coming months.
“The next twelve months will be the most challenging time for local government that any of us have known. There are things we will want to do a year from now that we will simply not have the funding to do.
“We face two challenges with our budget. One immediate and one next year. In the short term, the recent revisions to our settlement from government mean that we have to save around £ 4.2 million in the current year.
“That may not seem like a great deal on a budget of over £800 million but to put it into context, it is over half of our current libraries budget.”
The cash will have to be found from budgets already allocated for services, with Cllr Hillan saying residents would get to have their say on what they want to see protected and cut.
She added: “Over the coming year we will have to make major changes to how we provide our services. We have known this day is coming which is why our corporate plan makes clear a commitment to provide better services with less money. But we don’t take better to mean the same thing as more.
“We will be asking residents for their input to wider decisions. We won’t be shrugging off our responsibilities, and I don’t expect residents to be in a position to discuss the relative merits of spending on social work or street lighting. But we will need to know their principles and their priorities.”
People will be consulted both through the council's website, the Leader Listens blog and in area forums.
What do you think should be saved and what should be cut? Leave your comments below.
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