The County Council is giving us all an early opportunity to have a say online on how the authority sets its budget for next year. Councillors have started to prepare their priorities and budget in advance of the announcement of Government funding which will be made towards the end of the year – the eventual budget will cover the period April 1, 2009, to March 31, 2010.

County Council Leader Councillor Jill Tuck, said:

The County Council’s budget setting process this year is going to be tough. We are expecting no favours in terms of our grant. That means we have to focus on priorities, and of course, what matters most to our residents.

I hope that as many people as possible will tell us what they want – it’s up to them “their services, their choice.” Do people want better public transport or more cycleways? Better services for people with disabilities. Better recycling schemes or more books in Libraries?

So to gain public opinion, the County Council has put a questionnaire on its website and you can now have your say at the click of a mouse. The consultation closes on December 1.

In addition, paper copies of the form are available in all County Council Libraries or people can use the free Internet access in Libraries to make their views know online. A postal survey will also be carried out to seek the views of a representative sample of the population.