Residents have been warned that the fight to save Lichfield District Council services is not over.
The local authority delayed a vote on proposals to cut a number of departments in a bid to help plug a £1.7million funding shortfall.
A petition organised by Labour opposition group leader Cllr Steve Norman forced the council to delay the decision on whether to implement the Fit for the Future review recommendations.
But with the Cabinet due to reconsider the plans on July 29, the full council will meet once more to debate the issue on August 13.
And Cllr Norman believes local residents need to continue making their voices heard.
“Under the council’s Constitution a petition of over 1000 means that the issues raised by the petitioners have to be responded to at a Cabinet meeting,” he said. “The petition gathered well over that number in a relatively short space of time.
“It will be important for anyone feeling strongly about these issues to write to the Cabinet members and lobby their own local councillors and to say why these particular services need support from Community Development services like, for example, FAB in Burntwood, Jigsaw in Lichfield and the Mill Lane Link in Fazeley.”
Cllr Norman has also warned that some cuts will need to be made, but believes the process should be given greater thought.
“Make no mistake, the council has to cut its budget by £1.7million by April next year – we can’t declare bankruptcy like the City of Detroit did in America this week,” he explained.
“But as a Labour group we have said we want to work with the Conservative members and residents to find what people regard as important for their communities and what they reluctantly have to say goodbye to.
“This has to be done quickly but it has to be done from the bottom up, not from the top down without proper consultation.”
