Some 30 UK County Councils are now operating a system of local budget control named ‘YouChoose’.
In simple terms this is a software simulator whereby one can view the local County Council annual budget. By logging in to the system one can make changes to the budget for your region. The simulator will display what impact on other services your proposed budget change will have. You can decide to accept your change or alter it accordingly. A summary of proposals will be given to council officials before making their final budget announcements for the forth coming year.
I believe this a great opportunity for the ordinary council tax payers to have a say in how their hard earned income that is ‘generously taken’ from them for local services is to be spent.
So if you believe that your road repairs are in tip top condition you can divert cash to schooling for example.
On the downside in order for this to work one should have a balanced representation from all walks of life. Failing to achieve such a balance may make the outcome biased to certain groups or areas.
Either way I still think this is a great opportunity. Does anyone know if similar schemes operate in other countries?

jawol(48)