Top officials at Wirral Council told councillors to "prepare for the worst" as the local authority wrestles with a surging deficit and likely budget cuts.
Residents will also be asked for their opinion on cuts that could be in the tens of millions as part of a pre-budget survey.
It was recently revealed that current projections for Wirral Council’s budget gap by the end of the year will be more than £49m, £35m more than the previous figure.
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Interim Director of Finance Stuart Fair said the deficit “has risen at an unprecedented rate,” adding: “We have got to hope for the best but prepare for the worst.”
Director of Resources Shaer Halewood said the scale of the situation was so huge that targets will not be set and a second round of proposed cuts will be put to the committee in November.
The comments were made at a Wirral Council policy and resources committee meeting as councillors approved to move forward with the proposals put forward in a report.
Part of the proposal is a pre-budget consultation to ask residents for their opinions when it comes to budget cuts and what services they would prioritise.
It nearly didn’t go to a vote after intense opposition from Greens and Conservative councillors but Labour councillor Paul Stuart proposed they move forward.
Council leader Janette Williamson said: “Why it is now being turned into some political football is staggering?”
The figure of £49m proved particularly controversial amongst Green and Conservative councillors with Cllr Jennifer Johnson saying the figure was “scare tactics” and “fear mongering.”
Some councillors argued it would be better to wait until the UK Government decides what funding councils get in December but council officers said it would be better to understand public priorities sooner rather than later.
Cllr Johnson referred to Cllr Williamson’s motion for a bailout on October 10, adding: “This isn’t just the UK and the government is very understanding of this. We need to get together, I guess, a really strong proposition from Wirral as to why we need this government support.”
The proposals were then passed unanimously after a few Conservative councillors initially offered their support.
Cllr Williamson previously said services like domestic violence support could be the first to be cut under that scenario but council officers warned that while taking such action could be necessary, it would hurt residents.
Further figures on how much would be saved if the council was only provided statutory services and a list of assets that could be sold will be provided at a meeting on November 9.
Ms Halewood said that the council was expecting to be in a position with a balanced budget and they had put mitigating measures in place but these were not able to overcome the scale of rising costs.
Cllr Kathy Hodson asked whether reserves could be dipped into to fund services but Ms Halewood said this could worsen the council’s financial position, adding it was not “best practice to use reserves as they are only one-off.”
Ms Halewood said she would bring forward any reserves she considers could be used but said: “We have got a very low level of reserves, and my advice last year was we have got to increase our reserves.”
It was also confirmed at the meeting that Bromborough Civic Centre would not be used as a food hub, an idea that was proposed by Cllr Jo Bird.
Ms Halewood, Director of Resources, said that the council did not have enough funds for the proposal as well as a risk assessment of the building.
Cllr Bird said: “I am very disappointed by that decision.”
Several MPs have called for more funding for Wirral Council, with MP Mick Whitley from Birkenhead asking to meet with the Levelling Up department.
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