Throughout autumn 2015 there was a series of meetings across the county about the tough choices the County Council faces in setting its budget for the coming year.
There were nine meetings in total with district, town and parish councillors.
A budget priorities survey also took place from October 2015 to January 2016.
Devon County Council has a statutory responsibility each year to set a balanced budget. The process to decide, agree and set a budget is a long one and involves a number of meetings spread over a period of 3 months.
| Date | Time | Meeting title | What happens at the meeting? |
| 9 December 2015 | 10.30am | Cabinet | DCC Cabinet members review the target budget for 2016/17 |
| 11 January 2016 | 2.00pm | Budget consultation with trade unions | Community groups have the opportunity to comment on the target budget for 2016/17 |
| 14 January 2016 | 2.00pm | Budget consultation with representatives of older people / voluntary sector | |
| 15 January 2016 | 2.00pm | Budget consultation with the business community | |
| 14 January 2016 | 2.00pm | Health and Wellbeing scrutiny | 4 scrutiny committees review and scrutinise the budgets for their areas |
| 19 January 2016 | 10.00am | People’s scrutiny | |
| 21 January 2016 | 10.00am | Place scrutiny | |
| 22 January 2016 | 10.00am | Corporate Services scrutiny | |
| 29 January 2016 | 10.00am | Joint scrutiny budget day | All 4 scrutiny committees meet to discuss the budget |
At the end of January / beginning of February the County Council pulls together the final budget.
| Date | Time | Meeting title | What happens at the meeting? |
| 12 February 2016 | 10.30am | Cabinet | DCC Cabinet members agree the final budget for 2016/17 and recommend the level of council tax for 2016/17 |
| 17 February 2016 | 2.15pm | Full Council | All Councillors meet together as the Full Council and approve the final budget and any council tax rise for 2016/17 |
All of the meetings are open to the public. For everything you need to know about participating at meetings, visit Democracy in Devon.
Alternately you can watch them live via the council’s webcast.