Kent County Council has warned it is facing ‘unprecedented financial challenges’ as it tries to find additional savings of £206m over the next three years.
The council, which has already made cuts of £269m over the past three years, is consulting residents on a 1.99% rise in council tax to help protect frontline services.
John Simmonds, the council’s cabinet member for finance, said: ‘The extent of the challenge is clear for all to see and the decisions we make in our budget will affect everyone in Kent. That's why we want as many residents as possible to take part in our budget consultation. This is the toughest budget we've ever faced.’
The council will consider commissioning more services from the private and voluntary sector, reviewing its procurement contracts and rationalising its property assets. It has also pledged to transform adult and children's services by investing in more preventative services.
Leader of Kent County Council, Paul Carter, said: ‘The financial challenges we face are unprecedented and reducing our spending by such a massive amount was never going to be easy. But for 2014/15 we have done what we promised and left no stone unturned in our bid to save more than £81m.
‘We have increased the number of services the council commissions from the private sector and delivered the first major changes of our transformation programme. We will measure all our services against the best that can be offered by the private and voluntary sectors to deliver the best possible services for the best value for the residents of Kent.’
