A survey asks locals to rank their priorities for services under pressure from budget reductions as well as comment on the vision and values for the council in the future. A background document and look to the future has also been published to give context to the current budget position.

Set against a backdrop of the need to identify around £20 million of reductions over the next two years, the Moray Council budget has already seen savings of £58m since 2010.

Moray Council’s budget in 2023/24 was £260.8m made up of Scottish Government grants and funding (59%), council tax income (15%), other grants (15%) and charges (7%).

Over the coming months the council will seek the views of locals on how far they could tolerate increases to charges, changes to services and their take on what the future of Moray Council looks like.

Leader of Moray Council, Cllr Kathleen Robertson, set out the council position heading into the 2024/25 budget year: “We know the settlement we receive from the government won’t be enough to keep up with inflationary pressures, including a rise in the Living Wage; ever increasing construction costs; and an ageing learning estate.

“While we have the ability to raise additional income, we’re limited in ways that will allow us to maintain all our current levels of service.

“The unfortunate and stark reality is there will be service cuts in Moray next year. There is no way round it and we need residents to help us by completing this initial survey to say where they would tolerate those cuts falling.

“Nobody wants them and we can’t say they’re acceptable, but they’re necessary, and we need locals to look at the future of Moray Council with us, make their views known and work with us to shape that future council.”