Council spending in Argyll and Bute could be slashed by as much as £13m next year, with even more cutbacks to come after that.
The council is still struggling to force through the hugely controversial £10m cuts which were approved in February, with confusion over reduced bin collections and lollipop patrol staff resigning as their hours are cut.
And last week it was revealed here that despite the cutbacks, the number of highly paid council staff had increased by 30%.
But next week yet another round of public consultation is due to start, with the Lochgilphead-based authority warning that its budget will have to be reduced by between £4m and £13.1m
The ‘funding gap’ is predicted to continue worsening, totaling between £18.2m and £39.9m over the next three years.
The council cut 82 jobs as part of its budget for the current financial year and on Thursday it is expected belatedly to approve the formation of a charitable trust to take over its community halls, libraries and swimming pools, ‘securing’ 125 jobs.
Its funding allocation for 2017-18 from the Scottish Government will not be confirmed until December, but best and worst case scenarios have been drawn up, based on estimates.
Thursday’s meeting of the full council is expected to approve another of the budget consultation exercises which have become depressingly familiar annual events, starting on Monday November 28 and running until January 9.
Background papers give details of management and operational savings totalling £1.4m, but there is no indication of the frontline services which seem certain to be under threat.
There will be questionnaires online and in libraries, as well as a survey of the council’s citizens panel.
A draft of the council’s guide to its ‘budget challenge’ is here: appendix-2-budget-planning-information
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