Dudley residents asked to highlight the vital services they want saved from £57m cuts
A consultation has been launched for residents to highlight vital services in Dudley as council bosses battle to make £57 million of cuts.
Bosses at Dudley Council want people to select the top five services across the borough that matter the most to them.
From rubbish collections, childrens services to town centre improvements - council bosses are looking at ways to find savings in the wake of Government cutbacks.
Over the last two years, through its Big Question budget consultations, the council has attracted 7,000 responses offering views on how the authority should prioritise services.
Dudley Council's finance boss, Councillor Stuart Turner, says that the authority was keen to bring back the Big Question consultation for a third year.
And this year's Big Question is asking residents to select the top services they most value.
The responses will then be used by council bosses as they look to find savings by changing the way services are run or by stopping the delivery of services where there is no other option.
Councillor Turner said: "The number of people who have taken part in our Big Question consultations has been bigger than any other budget consultation ever held by Dudley Council.
"We hope we can build on this and again encourage thousands of residents to have their say about the services that matter most to them.
"As a community council, we've listened to our residents and attempted to maintain a high level of service whilst making the savings that are required due to the national funding shortfall.
"So far, we have made £60 million of savings but over the next three years we still have to find around a further £57 million."
People can take part by visiting www.dudley.gov.uk or by using #dudleybudget on twitter.
People can also pick up hard copy versions of the consultation from borough libraries and Dudley Council Plus in Castle Street, Dudley.
The consultation runs now through to Sunday, January 25.
Also among the proposals already highlighted to save money are plans to turn off some street lights after midnight to reduce energy bills, saving £100,000 by 2018, while maintenance of parks around the borough would be reduced to claw back £265,000.
Savings of £22.9m are proposed for 2015/16, moving up to £25.3m by 2016/17 and £27.4m by 2017/18. But the council has warned it faces a deficit of approaching £30m by 2017/18 if additional savings are not found.
Visit www.dudley.gov.uk for further details.
