WITH the Government’s special budget coming up, I’m not in a position to have as clear a view on what the next 12 months might require of the council than is usually the case.

From the media reports I’ve seen, the budget will contain a number of very challenging proposals.

They are unlikely to be instantly popular, but we shouldn’t doubt that they are necessary.

Between 2001 and 2008, national public spending had risen to a level that the country simply couldn’t sustain.

Since 2010 there has been a real effort made by national government to restore sanity to the national public finances, and we have seen the first signs of that recovery in rising employment and increased economic activity.

However, the economic situation is still fragile and we know that there are more tough but necessary decisions ahead.

In our heads, we all accept that national government and councils must live within their means, because they are spending our money.

We all want to keep more of the money we work hard to earn, and not pay higher taxes, but at the same time our hearts tell us that we can’t accept any change or loss of an existing public service.

It’s natural that our first response to any cut or change is an emotional one, which may prompt the signing of a petition or sending an email, but we can’t ignore these budget challenges or simply hope that they will go away.

The truth is that at this council alone, we will have to find savings of at least £20m this year.

This means we are going to have to continue to make radical changes to the services we provide, and be realistic about what we can offer for the future.

We must also stick to the difficult decisions already made.

For example, in an ideal world we would not have cut the road repair budget to just our level of government grant, as this paper reported last week.

Unfortunately, the hard truth is that if we put that money back in, we’d have to make £22m of savings, not £20m, which would mean a further £2m being taken from somewhere else.

All councillors will need to address themselves to this difficult task and if we do, I am confident that we can continue to provide the support that the community requires.

To end on a lighter note, two ducks set up their nest just outside my window here at the Civic Offices, in a courtyard enclosed on all sides by high walls.

While they were a pleasant distraction, members of our ranger team have safely removed them and their ducklings to a far more suitable home in Queen’s Park, where there is water for them to swim in.