Dumfries and Galloway Council faced with £34million financial black hole over next three years
The amount Dumfries and Galloway Council needs to cut from its budget over the next three years has hit an estimated £34 million.
The local authority had thought it would need to save £10 million each year for a cumulative total of £30 million.
However, a report for the upcoming meeting of the council's enabling and customer services committee estimates the amount has risen to £34.32 million.
Reasons cited for the increase include nationally negotiated pay rises for council workers and increases in demand for children's residential placements.
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The full council meeting at the end of February will see members set the budget for 2025/26.
Increasing council tax is one option on the table to plug the gap, while a range of budget savings which could save more than £5 million in 2025/26 went out to consultation last year.
However, not all of these options - which included cutting funding for the Youth Beatz festival and changing the mothballing threshold for schools - were popular with locals.
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Committee chairman, Councillor Ivor Hyslop, said: "Every year our council needs to make tough decisions in late February and this year will be no different.
"The bottom-line is, like all local authorities facing similar pressures, we need to balance our books.
"Our reputation as a council for ‘sound financial management’ was highlighted last year by the Accounts Commission and we will continue to take a prudent approach to what is a challenging fiscal backdrop."