Public toilets, theatres, and leisure services in Somerset are set to be hit by cuts as the unitary authority attempts to bridge a £100m budget gap.
Council leader Bill Revans said the council had no option but to consider ‘unprecedented’ and ‘heart-breaking’ steps to balance the books.
The council’s executive meeting on 15 January will consider a plan to use reserves, cut services, increase council tax by 10%, and sell off council assets to set a balanced budget.
‘The funding model of local government is broken and our pleas for assistance have not yet been answered,’ said Cllr Revans.
‘Councils up and down the country are in a similar position and in Somerset we have been hit extra hard by cost inflation in care.’
The unitary authority, which came into being last April, declared a financial emergency in November.
The council said the funding gap for 2024-25 was due in large part to an expected £70m increase in the cost of adult social care.
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