The engagement exercise will be an opportunity for people to feedback on potential savings across a range of council services as well as possible ways to increase income.
People can participate in the survey on the Engage Stirling website, with paper copies also available in libraries. The closing date is 2 February.
It continues the council’s Big Conversation with communities about how it negotiates the ongoing and unprecedented financial challenge impacting local government in Scotland.
In October and November, more than 800 people took part in a survey that followed on from last year’s Big Conversation, sharing their views on services that work well, areas where there should be a greater focus along with suggestions for generating more revenue and transforming how the council works.
The council’s recently approved medium term financial strategy underlines the scale of the financial challenge it faces over the next five years, with an indicative budget gap of £12.938m in 2025-26, rising to £51.315m by 2029-30.
Just over 71% of overall funding to support Stirling Council’s 2025-26 budget comes from Scottish Government grant and business rates, with the other 29% from council tax, housing rents and council reserves.
The Scottish Government published its draft budget on 4 December and councils have now had an opportunity to analyse their respective funding packages, providing greater clarity on their financial position for next year.
Tough choices
Stirling Council Depute Leader, Cllr Gerry McGarvey said: “Firstly, I would like to thank everyone who took part in the first phase of this year’s Big Conversation.
“The feedback you provided in the first survey will help us make your services better and inform the final decisions in next year’s budget.
“With the ongoing financial challenges for local government, however, we still need to make some tough choices to reach a balanced budget.
“Our new medium term financial strategy is our roadmap to securing the council’s long-term financial sustainability. It makes clear that all measures must be considered to bridge the financial gap.
“As a result, services from across the council have produced detailed proposals to save money and raise more income.
“Covering services such as schools and education, libraries and car parking, it is likely these will impact everyone in some way, so please have your say. Your feedback will inform the decisions made on next year’s budget and how we deliver these key services to communities across Stirling.”
To see the full list of the proposed savings and take part in the online survey, visit: https://engage.stirling.gov.uk/en-GB/projects/big-conversation-detailed-proposals
Paper copies of the survey, which will run until midnight on 2 February, are also available at Stirling Council libraries.
Ongoing engagement and next steps
The council will also continue to engage regularly with its staff, trade unions, local partners, groups of service users and other key stakeholders during the remainder of the budget-setting process.
All of the findings from the Big Conversation will be presented to elected members for consideration and to help inform their decisions when they set the budget in late February 2025.
The council must plug its budget gap in 2025-26 despite making up a shortfall that eventually amounted to more than £18 million in the current financial year. These were delivered by savings across council services, the use of one-off reserves and increases to fees and charges.
For more information, including on a breakdown of how the council is funded and how it spends its money, please visit www.stirling.gov.uk/bigconversation