At a Special Council Meeting yesterday, councillors approved the revenue budget of £125 million to spend on services in 2019/2020.

Last week Clackmannanshire Council approved the Housing Revenue budget and a capital budget programme of £22.49m for the next year, which includes investment in the School Estate, Roads and Footpaths Infrastructure, Community Regeneration and City Region Deal projects.

It was also agreed that Clackmannanshire’s Council Tax is to rise by 4%, with the new Band D rate set at £1,266.63.

Councillors also agreed a net resource transfer for adult social care of £17.114m (subject to confirmation of the council’s allocation of specific funding) to the Clackmannanshire and Stirling Health and Social Care Partnership.

The budget was agreed following engagement with local residents and organisations on officer budget proposals, details of which were presented to councillors.

Savings of £4.810m have been approved to deal with the spending gap. The new Corporate Plan ‘Be the Future’ sets out the council’s vision, focussed on collaboration, inclusive growth and innovation to guide the council’s strategic direction over the next three years to ensure it is operating effectively and efficiently. The new vision and streamlined priorities aim to provide a much clearer focus for council investment and delivery.

As part of this plan, the council has agreed a Transformation Programme, and collaboration is viewed as critical to the council’s continued sustainability. A number of discussions are already taking place with our Alliance partners and neighbouring councils in Forth Valley, Fife and Tayside to explore the potential opportunities for closer partnership. Officers are looking across both the public and private sectors in Scotland and the UK to identify new and innovative models.