TAXPAYERS will be asked to join in a ‘budget conversation’ with council bosses when ’finer details’ of the Government’s spending cuts emerge.

Responding to Chancellor George Osborne’s Comprehensive Spending Review last week, Wycombe District Council say no further savings need to be made in the current financial year.

But councils across the country face substantial cuts to their budgets over four years of around 26 per cent.

Catherine Spalton, spokesman for WDC, said this “will inevitably have implications” but members of the public will asked their views on which areas to protect.

“As the finer details of the Government cuts emerge over the coming months, we will be reviewing our budget position and starting a “budget conversation” to get people’s views before any difficult funding decisions have to be made,” she said.

Buckinghamshire County Council has already held a similar public consultation on where the axe should fall as it tries to make more than £90m of cuts.

The results of its ’Bucks Debate’ have been published (see below) but the meetings were widely criticised for the low turnouts.

Officials at WDC conceded that, given the level of reduction in funds, this “will inevitably have implications” but added they had planned for this.

In a statement, the council reassured residents that it has a “strong track record of successfully delivering change and we are ready for this next challenge”.

Cost savings of £5.6m have been made in the last five years already and 100 fewer staff are employed than three years ago.

The council says it remains “committed to preserving frontline services wherever possible”.

Miss Spalton said: “As always, we will be mindful of minimising any impact on frontline services and on local resident s.

“As a prudent measure in case cuts were more severe than anticipated, we have reviewed every vacancy that has arisen in the council over the last year.

“This has led to us deleting posts where it was possible to make savings without significantly affecting the service that we provide; where there has been a pressing need to replace staff, vacancies have been filled on fixed-term contracts.”

She added: “We have consistently minimised the increase in council tax levels to at or below inflation each year.”

The Government has frozen council tax for a year from April 2011.