Cheltenham Borough Council is projecting a potential £4.7m budget gap over the next 4 years and is asking residents their views on where the axe should fall.
If you think a service must continue with its current budget, tick ‘protect’; if you believe too much is being spent in an area, tick ‘reduce’; or if you see no need for a service to continue, tick ‘stop’. Some services have to be provided (by law) and in those cases you only have the option to tick reduce or protect.
This is an anonymous and unofficial poll but we will send the final results to the Council so your views will get heard! The ‘Arts and Culture’ budgets are listed on this page, but there are 4 other departmental budgets for you to decide on, and links for these are listed directly below.
Communities | Democracy | Economy | Environment
Arts and Culture
| [polldaddy poll=3654210] | [polldaddy poll=3654195] |
| [polldaddy poll=3654214] | [polldaddy poll=3654223] |
| [polldaddy poll=3654227] | [polldaddy poll=3654237] |
| [polldaddy poll=3654242] | [polldaddy poll=3654388] |
Betti Stephens said on August 22, 2010
The Festivals are one of Cheltenham’s flagships and are creating a real buzz for the town. They must be kept. And they must be kept as high-profile and well-supported as they are!
Thanks for the opportunity to comment.
Jamie Marsland said on August 22, 2010
Hi Betti,
Thanks very much for you comment. It would be great if you can send the link round to your friends so we get as much feedback as possilble. http://www.leckhamptononline.co.uk/what-services-should-cheltenham-council-cut/. We will consolidate and publish the results at the end of the consultation period.
jamie
fleur said on August 22, 2010
I guess that the figures for the Art Gallery and Museum includes the costs of the building works that are being done at the moment?
In order to save this amount of money it is clear that there will be a huge impact on the services that the Borough Council can provide. It is interesting to see the full range of services set out so clearly, and difficult to see any easy solutions.
Adrian Malpass, Business Coach/Mentor said on August 23, 2010
It never fails to amaze me that when the public sector has to trim their out-goings (just like the rest of us), they always focus on cutting services instead of cutting the inefficiencies and poor performance in their own organisation.
What did Lord Digby Jones (former head of the CBI) say? Something like, “The public sector only needs half the staff!”.
Well, that would solve the problem, wouldn’t it?
Do we really need all these layers of local government? Surely one less could be achieved?
The reality is that with the public sector taking the “protect our staff” attitude as their first priority, it’s always the ‘customer’ that is going to suffer. All of the above should be kept, although they should all be given the entrepreneurial support to get them to be at least ‘cash neutral’ as a minimum – 3 years with that support could, more than likely, even turn a profit!
A small change in the mindset of those making these decisions could have a huge impact – and quickly too!
Sue said on August 24, 2010
I’m sad that more people can’t see the value of the Festival of Performing Arts – it is a wonderful opportunity for the children and young people of Cheltenham to perform in public, honing both their skills in their particular discipline (music, drama, dance) and boosting their confidence and self-esteem.
How is it that the other Festivals generate no income whatsoever according to these figures? As a Festival goer, I know I spend a considerable amount of money buying tickets and refreshments etc – does none of this money find it’s way back to the Council?
Tim said on August 31, 2010
Why is the Cheltenham Festival income zero? What happens to all the revenue generated from events?
Rosie M said on August 31, 2010
Hi Tim
We’ll be sure to ask Chief Finance Officer Mark Sheldon that when we interview him on Thursday. Or you can post that question yourself here: http://www.leckhamptononline.co.uk/2010/08/post-your-questions-to-the-cheltenham-borough-council-chief-finance-officer/
Thanks for your comment.