Have your say in our citywide referendum

Brighton and Hove Independent is - by some margin - the best-read newspaper in our city.

As such, we have a responsibility to live up to our commitment to be a 21st-century media platform for a 21st-century city.

But what does that mean when it comes to local democracy and the financial crisis facing Brighton and Hove City Council?

As we previously highlighted, our city is facing a crisis: a time when difficult and important decisions have to be made.

Those decisions will be made by a council on which no party has majority control. There are 20 Green councillors, 18 Conservative councillors, 13 Labour councillors, one UKIP councilor, and two independent councillors.

In addition, decisions that will have long-lasting implications will be made by a council that has only two or three months to run - before the city council elections and the general election, on Thursday, May 7.

Even then, it is entirely possible - even probable - that no party will be entrusted with a majority, for another four years.

By which time, government funding will have fallen from £103 million to just £39 million. And the funding gap will have increased from £26 million to £102 million.

As things stand, crucial decisions will be taken in our name by politicians who are likely to be focused more on short-term political advantage than on the long-term interests of the city. Indeed, up to one in three councillors voting on next year's council budget will actually be standing down on May 7.

The Brighton and Hove Independent's citywide referendum will provide a unique opportunity to influence these crucial decisions. Before it's too late.

It's all about your city, your council - and your say.

How it will work

Our aim is to help inform and engage citizens in a process that also offers repeated opportunities to have a dialogue with those in power.

As you would expect, Brighton and Hove Independent will continue every week to publish articles that inform and reflect the diversity of opinions in our city.- about all aspects of the council budget and how council services can be provided.

More than ever, we will invite readers to have their say. In print, online, and at public meetings.

On Tuesday, January 27 - at the first of a series of public meetings - we invited you to question political leaders and to have your say as voting opens in our citywide referendum. The meeting marked the beginning of what we believe will be the most intensive democratic consultation undertaken by any media organisation in the United Kingdom

Until Tuesday, February 17, you will be able to vote by post, online, and at ballot boxes at locations in and around the city.

Voting cards will be distributed with every copy of Brighton and Hove Independent on Friday, January 30. There will be further opportunities to vote by post in subsequent issues on February 6 and February 13.

Insofar as practicable, every precaution will be taken to prevent multiple votes and to safeguard the integrity of the referendum.

The main focus of the voting will be whether or not council tax should be increased - and, if so, by how much. A second question will seek to elicit ideas about other ways in which the funding gap can be bridged, through innovation and a re-thinking of services and/or priorities.

The results will be revealed in advance of the crucial budget meeting of the full city council on Thursday, February 26.