More than £1 million will have to be cut from Maidstone council’s budget next year.

The council has announced it has to make savings to safeguard frontline services.

The recession and cuts in real terms in government grants mean that the pressure to make savings is greater than ever. The cabinet will present its budget to the council early next year.

People in the borough are being asked for their suggestions on how to make savings.

Maidstone council leader Cllr Chris Garland said: “We are going to have to make cuts in every area of the council’s day-to-day spending next year to protect essential, frontline, services and to keep down any increase in our council tax.

“We want to make sure we keep the services that people depend on, such as refuse and recycling collections, street sweeping, parks and open spaces, CCTV, concessionary fares, and park and ride.”

The council spends £25 million a year on local services. The council has a legal duty to provide many services such as the refuse collection but included in the total figure is spending of £5 million a year on other important discretionary services such as community halls and toilets.

Cllr Garland added: “We’ve already had to make savings on discretionary services such as toilets so I want to know how much the taxpayer is prepared to spend to protect essential services and the services where we can make cuts.”

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