THOUSANDS of people have taken the chance to help decide which of York's council services should be cut to plug a £1 million cash gap.

The consultation exercise is being carried out by City of York Council - which is facing a massive funding shortfall next year despite a string of savings and an inflation-busting council tax hike - as it tackles the tough task of setting its budget for the new financial year.

In the two weeks since questionnaires were sent out to the city's residents, about 4,000 responses have been received by post, with hundreds being completed on the council's website.

The closing date for submissions is tomorrow, although the deadline could be extented until next Thursday.

Proposals for saving council cash include shutting a branch library, closing York Central Library one day a week, cutting funding for social services and closing swimming pools on bank holidays.

They could also involve slicing the Theatre Royal's funding by five per cent, cutting back on cultural events such as the City of Festivals - which supports the likes of the annual Jorvik Viking Festival - closing three performing arts centres for children and shutting the St George's Field car park toilets.

The council is also considering spending more money on areas such as highway and footpaths, paying fees to private sector residential and nursing homes for the elderly, better Christmas lights and an annual firework display, and the questionnaires are asking residents what they think should be made a priority.

"There has been a great deal of interest in the consultation," said a council spokeswoman.

"Approximately 4,000 questionnaires have been returned so far and the majority of responses have been very constructive."

Although the official verdict has yet to be made known, The Press understands that strong support has been received for increasing parking charges for visitors to York by 20p to £1.50, discontinuing travel tokens for the over-60s and starting free bus travel for that age group at 9.30am rather than 9am - three moves which would save an estimated £440,000.

It is also believed that the public do not want to see the amounts currently spent on maintaining roads and footpaths being cut.

The council says it has been forced to make "difficult choices" for the 2008-09 financial year because of the low level of Government funding it receives.

Council leader Steve Galloway said: "It's fairly unique for a council to be able and willing to go into this level of detail.

"I accept some people take the view that they elect councillors to take these decisions, but often they are the same people who complain they are not consulted.

"We will look closely at the results and expect to incorporate people's views into our budget proposals to be published next month."

The questionnaires are available on the council's website at www.york.gov.uk