Have your say on Weymouth and Portland budget (From Thisisdorset)
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Have your say on Weymouth and Portland budget
9:41am Thursday 3rd January 2013 in Latest
Local people are being to have their say about Weymouth and Portland's 2013/14 budget proposals.
The contentious plans were approved for consultation at the borough council's Management Committee on 4 December.
They include demolishing the Pavilion and turning the site into a car park, selling the council offices on North Quay and the Guildhall and selling seafront hotels owned by the authority.
The proposals outline how the council aims to deal with the reduction in the amount of money it receives and has to spend - estimated to be at least £3.9 million less by 2019/20.
No final decisions have been made by councillors about the 2013/14 budget.
Councillors will debate the matter at Management Committee in February and then ultimately set the budget at Full Council on February 21.
Results from the consultation will be used to inform councillors, highlight potential impacts of the proposals and ways to manage them while also identifying potential alternatives to the proposals and other ideas.
Councillor Peter Chapman, Weymouth and Portland Borough Council spokesman for Finance and Assets said: “The council has hard choices to make and is very limited about what it can actually do to address the financial situation it finds itself in.
“The council's cross-party budget working group has worked very hard to come up with the proposals which were approved for consultation by the Management Committee on 4 December, and we look forward to finding out what local people think about them.
“I do understand that not all of what is proposed will be popular but this consultation is also about finding out how the proposals will affect residents and businesses and explaining alternatives.”
The council will consult with the Chamber of Commerce, and is presenting the budget proposals to them. Stakeholder groups, such as the Forum for Equality and Diversity and other local organisations, will also be asked for their views.
Weymouth and Portland residents who are part of Dorset County Council's citizens' panel will also be consulted about the proposals.
More information about the budget process, ideas and an online survey is now available for local people and organisations to complete at www.dorsetforyou.com/weymouthandportlandbudget Paper copies are also available at the council's North Quay office reception.
The closing date for the questionnaire is January 20.
Comments(6)
Dorset Boy
says...
11:55am Thu 3 Jan 13
Bit early for April Fools day!
JamesYoung
says...
1:04pm Thu 3 Jan 13
Dorset Boy wrote:It's called "consultation".
Local people being asked for their thoughts and comments by W&PBC?
Bit early for April Fools day!
In the old days, they talked about "accountability", but "consultation" is better, because you just talk to people, ignore any opinions expressed that disagree with your own, then claim you conducted a consultation. It's a great excuse when the auditors come knocking.
JamesYoung
says...
1:09pm Thu 3 Jan 13
Phaedrus wrote:You hit the nail on the head. What is needed is for the council to refocus their existence on developing Weymouth as a tourist destination. If that requires wholesale investment then go out and find that investment. Clearly the council has other responsibilities too, but in the absence of the old RDAs (of questionable usefulness) the only body that can drive this redevelopment is the council. For this to be successful, the council needs to build trust with local people and businesses and there needs to be some recognition and reward, by local businesses to local taxpayers, of successes achieved due to the initiative. As part of this transition, the council should look to merge all non core areas with WDDC or DCC. It should also exploit the expertise of community groups and individuals willing to contribute on a voluntary basis. Unfortunately this requires a creative mindset of a nature that i am not sure exists within local councils.
The fruit of many years of mismanagement of council finances and consequent lack of investment - as bad as the English of paragraph 3 above. A seaside resort in the 21st century needs more than three laser light projectors and a new road.
bollywood
says...
5:03pm Thu 3 Jan 13
weymouthfox
says...
8:03pm Thu 3 Jan 13
Phaedrus says...
10:43am Thu 3 Jan 13