Last updated 15:52, Thursday, 02 October 2008

PRUDHOE town councillors have been discussing suggestions for inclusion in next year’s budget.

At the last town council meeting, Coun. Eileen Burt said the council should invest in a website. This would cost around £1,500 to set up and £200 to £300 a year to run.

Coun. Glenn Simpson suggested looking again at vehicle-activated speed signs. The council has erected four poles in the town, on which a LCD sign is rotated once every three months. Coun. Simpson’s “wish list” would include investing £1,000 on permanent signs for each pole.

Coun. George McCreedy suggested hiring a handyman, as the number of complaints councillors received about the condition of the town was “unbelievable”.

Coun. Tony William-son’s priority was to give the Northumbria in Bloom committee its own budget, allowing volunteers to “get on with it”.

While Coun. Lorna Garrett agreed such suggestions were helpful, she said the council first needed to get its priorities in order.

“Once we’ve done that, something like this would become a lot easier. I believe it’s something we’ve got to do. Otherwise, year after year we’ll be taking a crisis management approach to setting the budget.”