A phrase has been doing the rounds in the ‘blogosphere’ in certain circles about the City Council’s budget. I just want to set out what I think our budget process shows what ‘doing a Newcastle’ really means to me.
Firstly, although our budget consultation will soon come to a close it will have been one of the longest consultation periods of any council in the country. This means that people have a long time to understand the implications of what we’re proposing and respond. In some cases people were quick to appreciate the impact and respond, in other cases it has taken longer but this means that people have had the best chance possible of being involved.
