Locals have been warned of “tough choices” ahead in a bid to tackle Stirling Council’s estimated £13million budget shortfall next year.
Officers are already suggesting a host of cost-cutting measures in a bid to balance the books – including removing school counselling funds, reducing ASN staff, removing the parent and family support team, and cutting council-provided out-of-school care in Fallin.
Cutting library opening times, removing the garden waste concession, removing funding to Stirling Community Enterprise and cutting a quarter of the council’s funding to Stirling Citizen’s Advice Bureau, and increases to charges for cemetery and burial services are also among the options being tabled.
While the suggestions made have been put forward by officials and ultimately it is councillors who decide which are more palatable than others, increasingly tight local government budgets mean an increasing risk that many of them could find their way into the final budget.
The council’s recently approved medium term financial strategy underlines the scale of the financial challenge it faces over the next five years – with an indicative budget gap of £12.938m in 2025-26, rising to £51.315m by 2029-30.
Stirling Council Depute Leader, Cllr Gerry McGarvey said that “with the ongoing financial challenges for local government” the council still needed to make some “tough choices to reach a balanced budget”.
He added: “Our new medium term financial strategy is our roadmap to securing the council’s long-term financial sustainability. It makes clear that all measures must be considered to bridge the financial gap.
“As a result, services from across the council have produced detailed proposals to save money and raise more income.
“Covering services such as schools and education, libraries and car parking, it is likely these will impact everyone in some way, so please have your say. Your feedback will inform the decisions made on next year’s budget and how we deliver these key services to communities across Stirling.”
A new survey has been launched for residents to have their say on the detailed proposals.
People can participate in the survey on the Engage Stirling website, with paper copies also available in libraries. The closing date is February 2.
In October and November, more than 800 people took part in a survey that followed on from last year’s Big Conversation, sharing their views on services that work well, areas where there should be a greater focus along with suggestions for generating more revenue and transforming how the council works.
Just over 71 per cent of overall funding to support Stirling Council’s 2025-26 budget comes from Scottish Government grant and business rates, with the other 29 per cent from council tax, housing rents and council reserves.
The Scottish Government published its draft budget on December 4 and councils have now had an opportunity to analyse their respective funding packages, providing greater clarity on their financial position for next year.
To see the full list of the proposed savings and take part in the online survey, visit: https://engage.stirling.gov.uk/en-GB/projects/big-conversation-detailed-proposals.
The council has said it will continue to engage regularly with its staff, trade unions, local partners, groups of service users and other key stakeholders during the remainder of the budget-setting process.
All of the findings from the Big Conversation will be presented to councillors for consideration and to help inform their decisions when they set the budget in late February 2025.
The council must plug its budget gap in 2025-26 despite making up a shortfall that eventually amounted to more than £18million in the current financial year. These were delivered by savings across council services, the use of one-off reserves and increases to fees and charges.