The decision by a Scottish Government committee to launch a review into local authority finances has been attacked by Aberdeen City Council leader Jenny Laing.
Members of the local government committee are seeking to find out how councils have responded to a 10% real terms reduction in funding since 2009.
MSP Bob Doris, who convenes the committee, said: “Local government funding has fallen for five years.
“We want to establish how local authorities have managed these reductions and how they have impacted on services and service users.
“We will also be looking at whether other money being spent on local authority responsibilities, such as the health and social care integration funds, should be considered part of local government budget.”
Ms Laing, who also convenes the Scottish Local Government Partnership responded that all the important information was already well known.
She said: “What will this committee establish that we don’t already know?
“Councils have just suffered the biggest budget cuts in a generation and we know far worse is coming, as much as £1billion by 2020.
“Of course services have been impacted, but local authorities like my own in Aberdeen, have ushered in a system of smart economics which involves developing big infrastructure projects with business.
“Rather than sit idly by and let Nicola Sturgeon pass on her savage cuts without a single, meaningful conversation, we have met the challenge head-on to protect the people we represent.
She added that devolution to local authorities was necessary and continued: “Now we need greater fiscal freedom from the Scottish Government which would allow us to raise money and drive our own economies.
“Tax raising powers for business rates, a tourism levy and giving us the money from air passenger duty are just three ways we could offset the Tory-style austerity measures being imposed on us by the First Minister and her team.”
A Scottish Government spokesman said: “The governance review is an opportunity to openly debate how we can best empower parents, teachers and communities.
“At the heart of the review is the presumption that decisions about children’s learning and school life should be taken at school level.
“This approach is built on strong international evidence that, where you empower schools and engage parents, you get better educational outcomes.
“That is what we’re determined to deliver.”