Perthshire’s business community was asked for its thoughts as Perth and Kinross Council approaches the task of pruning millions of pounds from its budget.
Council chief executive Bernadette Malone and depute chief executive Jim Irons laid out the stark financial reality faced to members of Perthshire Chamber of Commerce before asking for their input into the debate about where savings should be made.
The authority will have to implement cuts of at least £22m though it could be as high as £30m over the next three years, a reduction of 6-7% from its budget.
“This is the greatest and most difficult financial challenge in decades as a result of the national budget cuts,” said Ms Malone at the event in the Lovat Hotel, Perth.
“We need to deliver services to more people with significantly less money. There are no easy choices. We need to make radical changes and find ways of delivering services at a much lower cost.”
As the council approaches setting a budget for the next three years, Ms Malone said prudent financial planning had placed them in a far better position than many other authorities and that through a three-pronged approach efficiencies and improvements, service redesign and cuts they were looking to achieve the required saving.
Ms Malone gave assurances that an area of expenditure close to the business community’s heart economic development would remain a high priority.
“I can offer a degree of comfort senior officers and elected members understand the value of the investment that we have made over the last couple of years in events and through small business grants and support,” she said.
Mr Irons added that there was also an element of political pressure from the government to keep economic development a priority as part of ongoing agreements.
Among suggestions from the floor with regard to cost savings was the improved use of some office buildings, including sharing accommodation an avenue Ms Malone said the council was already exploring.
Other topics included the possibility of Perth gaining city status as part of a competition to celebrate the Queen’s jubilee next year.
The chief executive conceded the task had become more difficult since it was announced that only one town from all the four home countries would gain city status.
News that Ayr was no longer entering the competition means Perth is now Scotland’s only entrant and she felt that as they were looking for restoration of the city title, that added to their claim.
Questioned by Blairgowrie businessman Roy Sim as to whether there would ever be a return to services being run locally as in the old town council days, Ms Malone said this was unlikely.
Due to the increasing complexity of services the public sector offered she said the solutions operated 40 years ago were less likely to be effective now. However, a local approach and community involvement could have worth in certain areas of service.