You Choose how to save council money
A £100,000 campaign designed to get residents' views on how Northamptonshire County Council can save £100 million has been launched.
Council bosses brought in a team of consultants to oversee the "You Choose" campaign after revealing the authority needed to save 100 million by 2014.
The leader of the council, Councillor Jim Harker (Con, Kettering Rural) said: "We're hoping people will come up with a lot of ideas, because we can't think that we're the complete experts in all this.
"I get people coming up to me quite often saying 'why don't you do this', so I'm sure a lot of good ideas will come forward."
As part of the campaign, a website has been launched to gather people's views and councillors will take part in a series of roadshows across the county.
Councillor Harker admitted the project's 100,000 price tag may be seen as high by some, but he said he believed it would be worth it, adding: "Some will see it as a waste of money, but I hope most people realise it's important to inform residents when we're talking about such huge issues.
"We don't want to take these big decisions without getting as much participation from the public as we can."
During the campaign, people will be encouraged to upload their pictures to the council's website so they can be turned into a photo-montage of a superhero which will be featured on the side of a lorry to tour the county.
Leader of the opposition, Councillor Brendan Glynane (Lib Dem, Delapre) described such ideas as a "silly waste of money".
He said: "This is costing an awful lot of cash which could be spent in areas that have been cut. It's just a PR exercise.
"The Conservatives were voted into power by the people of Northamptonshire to make tough decisions, but it looks like they're shirking that responsibility. It seems they're fresh out of their own ideas."
The first public consultation event will be held on Northampton's Market Square on Wednesday, March 10. The dates of the rest of the meetings have not yet been confirmed.
For more details visit the council website at www.northampton shire.gov.uk/youchoose.
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Saturday 26 May 2012
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