"Well it’s nearly Christmas and time flies when
you’re trying to develop a balanced budget! I do want to take the opportunity
to thank you all for your continued commitment and hard work this year. I find
Wiltshire Council is an inspiring place to work and that’s down to all of you.
It was great to see so many of you at the staff
forums which we completed last week. We held eight of these around the county
and I have to admit I was surprised at the upbeat nature of the discussion,
questions and ideas for improvement in the future. I found this encouraging,
refreshing and heartening.
Do have a great Christmas, with a well-earned rest
and have a happy new year. For those of us working over the holiday period,
thank you.
We received our funding settlement from the
government yesterday and as in previous years our finance team were spot on
with their modelling and predictions. A cash cut in our 2015-16 grant of 13%,
and this coupled with significant demand growth in adults, children and waste
requiring overall savings of £30m or 10% to set a balanced budget. High numbers
indeed but we have to remember that still leaves us with significant resources
for us to continue to work with our communities and elected members to achieve
our collective vision and objectives.
Speak again in 2015! For daily updates, discussion, personal
opinion, comment or just to connect or keep in touch you can follow me on
Twitter at http://twitter.com/#!/drcarltonbrand.
Carlton"
Carlton"
