LOCAL councillors from the Abergavenny area have expressed concerns over the lack of transparency regarding possible cuts to services provided by Monmouthshire County Council.

At a meeting last week, community council and town council representatives discussed mooted cuts expected to balance the county council budget for this year.

Services including operating public toilets, street-sweeping, gulley-emptying, hedge and verge cutting are understood to be at risk.

The group’s main concern is that Monmouthshire County Council has yet to outline financial details, despite the looming budget release date.

They also raised the issue that town and community councils would be forced to raise council tax if expected to cover the costs of certain local services without any justification to ratepayers.

Monmouthshire County Council has not yet decided where the cuts will fall which has left local councils hamstrung in their efforts to budget for any shortfall.

Peter Johns, Abergavenny’s town clerk warned that residents could be left in the dark, with tax rises outlined in their precept before any explanation has been made.

Mr Johns said, “If the council is going to make cuts, then they need to tell us where. Then we can at least identify what we can cover next year.”

He added the group had written to Monmouthshire County Council asking for detailed information to enable the local councils to plan ahead.

“The main issue is to make the public aware of what we are trying to do. This is a serious problem. We want the public to know and understand our frustrations,” said Mr Johns.

The budget is expected for final release towards the end of January.