Council's game of finance (From The Wiltshire Gazette and Herald)

Council's game of finance

RESIDENTS can sample the financial headache of setting Wiltshire County Council's budget in an online game launched last week.

The interactive site www.wiltshirebudget.org.uk is designed to help people understand their council tax bills and make their views known.

The game illustrates how decisions on where to spend money affects the level of council tax.

Players are given a starting budget of around £375m, which is based on the amount of funding the council had to spend this year.

Players are asked to make decisions about how much to spend on five key areas of council business including education, roads, recycling, social services and libraries.

They can then see what impact the changes have on the average council tax bill.

County treasurer Mike Prince said: "The way the county council is funded is complicated. Council tax is just one element. This site aims to help people understand how the funding works and will make them aware of the difficult decisions facing the council when setting the budget.

"I hope that people will take part in the online forum and tell us what they think.

"Contributions will be shared with county councillors who are the people who take the final decisions on the level of the budget and the council tax."