Residents can have their say on budget plans
People can have their say on Dudley Council’s budget plans which include a range of investments and savings.
Council bosses say listening to local people is “essential” to getting a balanced budget.
There are planned investments in parks, CCTV, town centre parking and many more services across the borough.
The council also needs to balance the books to continue funding essential services amid rising energy prices and costs.
Residents will continue to have some of the lowest council tax bills in the country despite a planned 4.99 per cent increase in council tax. Two per cent of that will go to services for older and more vulnerable people.
The council is now asking residents how it should spend money in an online consultation.
Councillor Steve Clark, deputy leader of the council and cabinet member for finance, said:
These are very challenging times for everyone and we have to make some difficult decisions. It is good news that we have been able to invest in a range of services that are important to people – from making the borough safer by extending our CCTV coverage to improving our parks and open spaces. These are things that people have told us are important to them and we have listened. At the same time, we are facing extremely challenging times which is why we are having to make the difficult proposal to increase council tax. And while it is important that our residents will continue to pay some of the lowest council tax rates in the country, an increase is still something we would avoid if we could. This consultation is about paying attention to what people want and using that information to create services that are important to local residents. I urge people to have their say so that we can make an informed decision in the spring next year.
The consultation can be found on the council's website
Closing date is February 10. A decision will be made by the full council in March next year.
A copy of the budget proposals can also be found on the council's website