Representatives from Denbighshire County Council are to meet a delegation from some of the main town and community councils and the voluntary sector in the county later this month, to discuss public services in the county.
Denbighshire County Council needs to find £8.5 million of savings in 2014/15, with up to £5.5 million in subsequent years. This means that the Council cannot continue to deliver all of its current services in the current format and it is looking at potential alternative solutions.
The County Council is hoping that the main town and community councils and the voluntary sector will look at whether they could be in a position to deliver some services.
Mohammed Mehmet, Chief Executive of Denbighshire, said: “We are proud of the work that we have done in Denbighshire to date to mitigate the effects of the tremendous financial pressure facing us, in light of our funding allocation. That work has seen us make better use of resources, being more efficient and effective in the way in which we do business.
“That kind of planning has been invaluable in maintaining and protecting frontline services. However, with other major savings to be made over the coming years we need to look at different ways of delivering some services. That is where our town and community councils come in.
“We have already seen examples of where town councils have taken over responsibility for assets and some community services very effectively in the past few years. There are tough decisions to be made, particularly in 2015/16 and we need hold discussions with town and community councils early, to see whether they are in a position to deliver services instead of the county council or whether an alternative solution can be found.
“The two tiers of local government need to have an honest and open dialogue, to see how we can work together over the coming years, for the benefit of Denbighshire residents.”
