The council “cannot deliver everything and anything”, Caerphilly County Borough Council’s interim chief executive has said.
Interim chief executive Christina Harrhy addressed the community council liaison sub-committee over the proposed budget cuts.
Ms Harrhy asked the committee how much they thought it cost the council to collect litter.
She said: “It’s about a mindset. We cannot keep delivering everything and anything.
“Our cleansing team collects litter and it costs the authority around £3 million.
“Let’s get the pride back into the community and get people thinking about how they get rid of litter.”
Ms Harrhy said that cuts were necessary, but by instilling a sense of pride back into the community, it could help reduce costs on services such as littler collections.
She went on to say: “The money is reducing but people’s needs are becoming more complex and there’s a higher demand.
“We try to carry on delivering everything but with less money, but this year is starting to look naughty.
“We have minimised the impact on front line services.”
The chair of the meeting, Cllr John Ridgewell, said he was encouraged by what was said.
Community councillors raised issues over council tax, community centres and playgrounds.
They were advised to put all their concerns into writing so that they could be considered with the budget consultation.
The consultation into draft budget proposals for 2020-21 is currently underway and the council is inviting residents to take part.
Cuts of more than £8m are proposed alongside an increase in council tax by 6.95%.
Ms Harrhy said: “I understand that you don’t want to see savings take place.
“If you don’t like a particular proposal then that’s fine, but you need to consider what you’d replace it with.
“If you take something out you have to put something else back in.”