So how would you balance the books?

Oldhamers got the chance to voice their opinions on council spending at Oldham’s Big Budget Conversation at the Queen Elizabeth Hall yesterday.

In the hot seat were council leader Councillor Jim McMahon, the local authority’s head of finance Councillor Abdul Jabbar and chief executive Charlie Parker.

The council has already made savings totalling around £100 million in the past four years, losing hundreds of jobs in the process.

In 2013-14 the council must make budget savings of £17.7 million - which could see another 290 redundancies. There might need to be a further £13 million in savings in the following year.

Over two public sessions yesterday the council urged residents to make suggestions for the best ways to save cash.

Councillor McMahon said: “Over the last four years, quite a good job has been done to try to minimise the effect on the frontline. No parks have been sold, the library system is basically the same, Gallery Oldham is still there, schools and social services are still there and the streets are being cleaned — people really haven’t noticed the difference.

“We are now in a situation that we are no longer saving money; we are now in the realms of cutting services. We want to make sure the budget meets the demands of Oldhamers.

The feedback will help to shape final budget proposals due before the council in February.