Fife Council is planning a shake-up of its budget setting process in response to spending cuts.
Rather than “cramming” important decisions about services into a few months the local authority is set to spread budget discussions throughout the year.
In a report to the policy, finance and asset management (PFAM) committee, executive director of finance Brian Livingston said, “Taking reports designed to generate financial savings to strategic committees throughout the year is preferable to trying to cram everything into a period between October and January.”
The report states that dealing with 1200 pages of savings proposals and information in a concentrated period of time “puts a lot of pressure” on elected members and council staff.
And with “significant” budget savings required in 2012-13 and 2013-14, Mr Livingston said changes in the budget process would have to be brought in immediately.
The PFAM committee mostly welcomed the report last week but requested more details to be brought before the next meeting.
