BCP Council leader Vikki Slade will be answering questions on the authority’s budget for the next year in a live Question and Answer session.
The budget, which will result in a council tax rise of just under five per cent, is expected to be approved by the full council tomorrow.
The live Q&A will be broadcast this Friday from one o’clock on all the council’s main social media channels, including YouTube.
Questions can be submitted in advance and the broadcast will be available to watch later for those unable to tune in live.
Cllr Slade, pictured, said: “As a responsible council, we have a legal obligation to balance our budget and provide essential services to support the most vulnerable in our society, keep our communities clean and safe, and maintain core infrastructure.
“Making the necessary savings to achieve this balanced budget has required us to make some very difficult and painful choices.
“We know how much these choices might affect our residents and it’s important the council leadership explains the decisions made in arriving at a budget that is expected to be approved at our full council meeting on Tuesday 20 February.
“We’ve been clear about the acute pressures facing the council and caused by years of austerity and recent high inflation.
“But I know our residents are all facing the same challenges, so I welcome the chance to explain both the unavoidable rise in council tax that forms part of our budget, and the work we’ve done to put the council on a sustainable financial footing and avoid the sort of serious government interventions that we have seen in other parts of the country.”
Questions on the 23/24 budget can be submitted in advance via: LiveQandA@bcpcouncil.gov.uk or through comments on BCP Council’s social media posts.
There will also be the opportunity for people to ask questions during the Q&A within the comments section and have them answered in real-time.
