Budget consultation

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Budgeting in a tough financial climate

Foreword by Leader of Canterbury City Council, Cllr John Gilbey

"I’m very pleased to be putting forward a draft budget that protects vital services at what is a difficult financial time for local authorities. But thanks to good money management in previous years, as well as some tough decisions already taken, we find ourselves in a better position than many other councils."   
 

Canterbury City Council – Introduction to our budget

Canterbury City Council has published its draft budget for 2012/13, setting out our proposed savings and a strategy to balance the books over the next four years. The budget is set against a backdrop of a cut in central government funding of around 28 per cent over four years, with the majority coming in the first two years.

Our priorities have been to focus on the ambitions set out in our new Corporate Plan 2012 - 2016,  to protect the services we are legally required to provide, and review all our services with a view to delivering a good quality of service for the customer at 20 per cent less cost.

Our approach will also involve appropriate charging for services that are only used by a small proportion of residents so that the cost doesn’t fall mainly on the general taxpayer. Moving towards a user pays approach was endorsed by local people in our Corporate Plan consultation earlier this year. While nobody likes higher charges for parking and other services, it brings in important income for the council.  For more information on the consultation please see our Funding The Future section. 

In anticipation of cuts in funding to come, the council has already saved, or plans to save, more than £3 million between 2010/11 and 2013/14 through measures such as efficiency savings, recruitment freezes and reductions in services. We have also underspent in our previous two financial years which helps to balance next year’s budget.

In addition, sharing services such as revenues and benefits, ICT and customer services with other local councils has already resulted in savings of £156,000 in 2011/12, with projected savings of £457,000 by 2012/13 and further savings expected in future years.

Over the next two years, all council departments will have in-depth reviews of everything they do to improve the way they work and provide better customer service while reducing costs. The aim is to save 20 per cent of the total council budget by 2015/16.

The council is also continuing with its ambitious programme of major improvement projects. With the new Marlowe and Herne Bay’s sports facilities now complete, we turn our attention to the redevelopment of the old Kingsmead site, the Herne Bay Central Development Area and the Beaney. We also remain committed to finding a new home for Canterbury City Football Club.

For more in-depth information on our proposals please take a look at the documents at the bottom and on the right hand side of this page.

Please note that the consultation is now closed, thanks to everyone who took part. We will publish the results as soon as possible..