THE leader of Essex County Council has urged residents to check on their elderly neighbours, pick up litter and cut overgrown hedges to help overcome budget cuts expected next year.
David Finch, whose authority is on a mission to save at least £237 million by 2017, is encouraging people to dabble in typical council jobs, "play their part" and demonstrate "civic pride" during tough times ahead.
In an interview with the Chronicle, the Conservative leader also stressed there was no threat to county council jobs, the county's 73 libraries or school transport for 16 to 19-year-olds.
He also said the authority, which has a GDP the size of Turkey's, could freeze council tax for the fifth year in a row.
"The county council doing everything for everybody, or the district or borough council doing everything, is not on the cards for the future," Cllr Finch told the Chronicle.
"It may be you are retired and you do want to help out with sports facilities for young people, or want to do neighbourhood watch, or speed watch, well there are lots of things out there where people can get involved and make a real difference. We want to tell people what they can do to help us."
Representatives from the county council will tour town centres in Essex in January to encourage this community spirit, an approach which mirrors the Conservatives' 'Big Society' ethos.
Cllr Finch stressed that new legislation such as The Care Act 2014, under which elderly people with less than £123,000 in savings will get their care paid for by the council, and inevitable cuts to grants from central government, will pile on the pressure for funds.
"Residents can play their part in very simply ways," added Cllr Finch.
"You want to be proud of your area and if you see litter outside your house or on your street, or where it seems your path or access is blocked by snow, you can take and demonstrate civic pride.
"It depends where you live in the community but if you're in a large town, like Chelmsford, you can do more to help, such as volunteering, if you like, under the third sector, in charities, or in the Citizens Advice Bureau."
The council leader also stressed that none of the county's 73 public libraries would be shut as part of next year's budget, but that there would be changes to them as part of "an evolutionary process", such as sitting side by side with other amenities like cafés.
Extra investments to protect against the impact of widespread flooding are also expected, after damage in Canvey Island last year cost £1.4 million alone.
"If there was flooding again, we would look to provide more resources to deal with the flooding, but the key point is we would be more adaptable and flexible," added Cllr Finch.
There will be no changes to the policy of school transport funding for 16 to 19 year olds, however, after changes were introduced last year charging £450 for low income families to get to school, rather than nothing previously.
Cllr Finch announced back in February that the budget for Essex would drop by £400 million, from £2.3 billion to £1.86 billion, for 2014/15.
