A consultation on Lichfield District Council’s budget has seen residents call for changes to funding levels for different services.
The local authority saw more than 1,300 people respond to a survey on how it should prioritise the way money is spent over the coming year.
Of all the areas where residents were asked for their views, only parks and open spaces, and street cleaning, bins and recycling were earmarked as sectors where more should be spent.
| Service area | Average change |
| Planning, Environment and Building Control | -4.73% |
| Tourism | -3.57% |
| Traffic and Parking | -3.18% |
| City Centre Development | -2.99% |
| Events and Culture | -2.39% |
| Council Tax, Benefits and Business Rates | -1.91% |
| Licensing and Public Protection | -1.31% |
| Housing Strategy and Homelessness | -1.03% |
| Sports and Leisure | -0.93% |
| Conservation, Ecology and Woodlands | -0.84% |
| Community | -0.03% |
| Parks and Open Spaces | 0.12% |
| Street Cleaning, Bins and Recycling | 0.37% |
Results of budget spending consultation
Residents were also asked to comment as part of the consultation, with many calling for the council to cut costs.
“Every business is cutting costs and driving out inefficient processes and waste in the economic downturn – the council should be making savings in exactly the same manner.”
Lichfield District Council budget consultation response
Other respondents called for black bin collections to be changed to monthly and money to be “prioritised on important stuff and not wishy washy tat”.
Another resident added:
“Spending more on local parks and wildlife would create a healthy and safe environment for the community to utilise for their fitness needs as well as social activities.”
Lichfield District Council budget consultation response
The results will be discussed as part of a review of the medium term financial strategy at a meeting of Lichfield District Council’s overview and scrutiny committee on Thursday (19th January).
Cllr Steve Norman, leader of the Labour opposition group, said the comments provided food for thought for the council.
“I said at the previous scrutiny committee – and was pleased to see someone else making the same point – that there were not enough alternative choices to make if looking at ways of saving money or improving services.
“Of course, many comments were made about the poor state of our roads, which is a county council responsibility, and a lack of funding for Burntwood.”
Cllr Steve Norman, Lichfield District Council
