Jobs will be axed, services for the elderly cut and spending on schools and roads squeezed as Argyll and Bute Council tries to slash tens of millions of pounds from its budget.
The local authority has warned it will have to make tough decision over the next five years – but senior members insisted the cash crisis would be managed “sensitively”.
An initial round of savings of £25million during the 2016-17 and 2017-18 financial years was agreed at yesterday’s meeting of the council’s policy and resources committee
But in total, the local authority will have to reduce spending by £37.5million by 2021.
Redundancies are a certainty and among those first in the firing line will be older people and those with learning disabilities and addiction problems.
The targets agreed yesterday mean that many services will have their budgets slashed by a fifth.
The cuts were announced just days after the local authority was criticised for forking out £100 a time to teach adults to ride bikes.
Head of finance, Steve Barrett, warned yesterday’s special meeting of the policy and resources committee that the council was preparing for job losses and would earmark funds for severance costs later this year.
Services which will have their budgets slashed by 20% include adult care, addiction services, learning disability, physical disability, mental health and care of older people.
Other services in the 20% cuts bracket include community centres, culture, museums, libraries, swimming pools, fitness facilities and welfare rights, music instruction, janitorial services, and Gaelic education.
The list also includes customer service centres, revenues and benefits, catering, cleaning, property, governance, human resources, health and safety.
Spending on piers, harbours and ferries, amenity services, infrastructure design, street lighting and waste management will also be reduced by a fifth.
There will also be a 7% cut in the budget for roads, schools and public transport and information technology.
But the local authority wants to increase investment in its economic development and communications services to help create jobs and grow the population.
Councillor Sandy Taylor, leader of the SNP group, said: “The council is the single biggest contributor to the economy of Argyll and Bute.
“We say we are going to grow the economy, but we are actually going to cut jobs. We might create 250 jobs, but we could be cutting far more.”
Council leader Dick Walsh said: “We are managing this as carefully and as sensitively as we possibly can. We have carried out consultation and we have got responses.”
Councillor Gary Mulvaney, Conservative group leader, said: “There will no rejoicing in the streets whatever the eventual outcome will be.
“There needs to be understanding that these are difficult choices. We will have significantly less money in two years time than what we have had in the past.
“This will not be a popularity contest by any manner of means and I think we have to face up to that.”
A project board of 12 councillors and trade union representatives will work together to produce detailed proposals for savings.
The council will then seek the views of people and communities through a consultation exercise.
Councillor Walsh added: “We have listened to feedback from people who took part in the Planning Our Future consultation.
“We are exploring initial savings targets, always considering the council’s priorities, and, of course, the best interests of everyone in Argyll and Bute.
“This process highlights the huge range of services that Argyll and Bute Council delivers to people and communities.
“Because of that, the process we use must allow time and opportunities to fully explore all possible options, to evaluate them carefully and to make sure the right choices can be made.”