Aberdeenshire council to make £24m in savings

Aberdeenshire Council has released a statement ahead of its budget meeting about the prospect of job losses amid pressure to save more than £24 million.

The council maintained that in order to achieve a balanced budget, councillors will need to consider a package of savings worth over £24 million and debate a potential council tax rise.

It outlined potential savings areas to include procurement, treasury management, a re-profiling of the council's Capital Plan, along with service proposals covering delayed recruitment to vacant posts, the re-designing of services, increased charging to cover costs and the continued disposal of surplus assets including property.

Councillors have used the responses from public engagement to inform their budget proposals which include raising charges for some services including letting out council buildings, community bedding plants, out of school clubs, sports and physical activities and investing in renewable energy and solar panels.

According to the authority, the engagement activity indicated that respondents were generally supportive of raising council tax, and supported a range of savings proposals including streamlining waste collection routes, less frequent cleaning of bus shelters and reviewing the school transport network.