Spending cuts in the region of £15.6 million will have to be made next year, the leader of Caerphilly County Borough Council has warned.
Cllr Dave Poole said tough decisions will have to be made as a total of around £60m of cuts may have to be made over the next five years.
The Labour group leader said: “These are unprecedented times for local government, and it’s essential that local councils, and the crucial services we provide, are able to benefit from any additional funding allocated to Wales.”
Funding to the council from Welsh Government is set to decrease next year by around 0.5%, meaning Caerphilly will get around £266.68m.
Cllr Poole continued: “It remains a deeply worrying time for local government, and while we’ve been doing all we can to maximise back office savings over the past few years to protect our residents, the financial situation facing us means that it is inevitable that we’ll need to make a number of difficult decisions over the coming months in order to deliver a balanced budget.
“As the impact of the Chancellor’s statement becomes clearer, Cabinet will consider a list of savings proposals for 2019/20 when we meet on Wednesday, November 14. Details of the proposals will be announced next week ahead of the meeting and a period of public consultation will then take place to ensure residents get the chance to have their say.
“I would like to assure our residents that while the situation is deeply concerning, we are working hard to protect and prioritise key frontline services. We know it will be tough, but we are up for the challenge.”
The council has already delivered savings in excess of £89m since 2008.
Cllr Poole has been highly critical of his Labour colleague Alun Davies AM, who is the Welsh Government’s Secretary for Local Government.
The Blaenau Gwent Assembly Member recently told BBC Radio Cymru that “complaining” councillors had behaved like “Oliver Twist” after plans to impose real-term cuts to council budgets were announced this month.
Cllr Poole said Caerphilly Council would “make no apology” for calling for a better financial settlement.
He said: “It’s unbelievable that the cabinet member for local government has made such flippant and inappropriate remarks at a time when Caerphilly and other councils are facing extremely difficult decisions about cuts.
“If these are the types of comments that the cabinet secretary makes in public, I dread to think what his private views are about local government.
“We deliver frontline services in the heart of our communities and we are also responsible for safeguarding some of the most vulnerable people in society, so we make no apology for arguing for a better financial settlement to protect our services.”