Last chance to complete Stratford District Council budget consultation online

Residents have until Wednesday 17^th November to complete a major budget consultation exercise.  The District Council has commissioned an on-line survey in respect of the Councils future spending, so residents are invited to click the survey link.  The budget scenarios are the same as those undertaken in 250 face to face interviews that have taken place in the last few weeks across the District with a representative sample of residents.

The methodology being used is known as SIMALTO (Simultaneous Multi Attribute Level Trade Off) and has been carried out by over 90 councils in the country.  It gives residents a real insight into the kind of difficult decisions the District Council has to make and allows them to decide where their own priorities lie based on real information.

People are given a set budget (made up of points) to prioritise the services delivered by the District Council that they feel are most important to them.  The points are then converted into money which reflects the District Councils budget.  Residents can choose to spend their points on keeping things as they are, cutting back or investing in the service areas that matter most to them.

The results will be used as part of the process to set the District Councils five year budget. 

There is also an opportunity to enter a prize draw to win £50 worth of shopping vouchers.

Councillor Stephen Gray, Leader says: "We have extended the survey period so that more people can have their say on where they think we should concentrate our spending over the next few years.  The Simalto methodology gives very reliable results which we can use to help protect the areas that are most important when we are considering next year's council budget.

A team of experienced researchers have just completed 250 face to face interviews across Stratford District during October and early November.  The interviews took place in residents homes and lasted approximately 40 to 45 minutes, with a representative sample selected to reflect the population and proportionately split by ward, age, and gender. 

Simalto is where each attribute (a Council service) is then given a cost and the resident is required to make a trade-off or compromise between attributes to improve and those to cut back on.  The cost of the attributes must be balanced to match either the original selection, meet a set budget, or allow a reduction.  The trade off shows which of the attributes are important and which can be sacrificed for improved service elsewhere simultaneously.  This is how the method gets its name SIMALTO.  More importantly, it shows how much the resident is prepared to pay for the changes and how this might impact on their satisfaction.  A common complaint when consulting on the budget is that people dont have enough information to make realistic decisions.  Using this system they do.