Reducing or stopping council events and changes to business grants and grant in aid are just some of the services local residents want to see changes to as Mansfield District Council looks to balance its budget.
The suggestions follow from residents, businesses, stakeholders, and employees participating in the 2024 to 2027 budget consultation that the authority launched in September to assess its residents’ priorities for the future.
465 responses were received during the consultation resulting in the following suggested changes to the savings proposals:
- Reduction or stopping events in Mansfield
- Changes to business grants
- Changes to grant in aid
The services that were identified as most important to residents were community safety, a clean and green district, and the town centre. The least important service was grants and support for business and voluntary sectors.
Overall, respondents do not want to see a change or reduction in CCTV, community safety patrols, the maintenance of public parks and open spaces or a reduction in street cleansing standards and public toilets.
68 percent of respondents also supported a 2.99 percent increase in the Mansfield precept of council tax, which would bring a £5 per year rise to the average council taxpayer in our district. So, as part of the council’s measures to meet the deficit for 2024/25, we will be proposing an increase in council tax of 2.99 percent.
Participants were given the opportunity to provide extra comments and feedback on the council’s financial decisions. Hot topic themes included the role of the executive Mayor, the authority’s investment strategy and property portfolio, and restructuring and savings on the council’s workforce bill.
The council is estimating a significant funding shortfall of more than £5.4m by the end of March 2026. Hence, a consultation was launched to hear first-hand from the community what services were important to them to prioritise services with what is financially viable.
All the suggestions will now inform the budget setting process and be shared at the Overview and Scrutiny Committee (Corporate) meeting on 7 November, with councillors making recommendations for the final 2024 to 2027 budget.
If all the recommendations from the committee are endorsed, these items will go forward to Cabinet and then for final approval at the Full Council meeting in January 2024.
Councillor Craig Whitby, Portfolio Holder for Corporate and Finance, said: “I want to thank everyone who participated in our budget consultation. We always said the proposals were not set in stone, and we’ve listened carefully to what people have told us and acted on their views and suggestions.
“However, like many councils across the country, we are still facing extremely challenging circumstances due to reductions in Government funding, growing demand for some key council services, and inflationary pressures on providing services.
“We will now consider these findings carefully and use them to inform the options for meeting out budget deficit.
“None of these decisions can be taken lightly, but to ensure the council is in a stronger financial position in the future, we have no other option.”
The council has a legal duty to achieve a balanced budget and deliver its financial commitments as set out in our Medium-Term Financial Plan by 2027.
Residents can view the full results of the consultation survey at www.mansfield.gov.uk/budgetconsultation.
Mansfield 103.2 Afternoon News - 261124
