The local authority is hanging on for dear life over its budget, a senior councillor has said.

Flintshire Council’s deputy leader Bernie Attridge has said meeting with AMs and MP’s is paramount to discuss the position the council finds itself in regarding its budget gap.

Speaking during a debate about the authority’s medium term financial strategy forecast for 2019/20, Cllr Attridge said: “We are literally hanging on for dear life. Other councils took the easy way out, but we have tried all sorts.

“We need to look at what else we can strip out to balance the budget, yes, there’s plenty of time and things could change, but it’s going to be hard work.”

The council reviews the Mid-term financial strategy on an annual basis and is an important step in the budget setting process, which considers national, local, workforce and social pressures as well as inflation.

Due to the forecast being in the early stages, the potential budget gap for 2019/20 ranges from £10.6m at the higher end and £9.1m at the lower end.

Cllr Carolyn Thomas agreed with Cllr Attridge, adding: “The anxiety that we have been through to close the budget gap and here we go again.

“We need to meet with AM and MPs to tell them how difficult it is to keep our budget.”

At the meeting, Cllr Thomas said the highways maintenance was a real concern for her, with a backlog of repairs up to £40m.

She continued: “It’s hard for the public to understand why we aren’t always out repairing roads, and I try to explain to them it’s because of different financial pots.”

Cllr Billy Mullin also expressed his concern about the budget cuts not being able to be cut much shorter.

He said it worries him the shortage of staff already and if there was ever a flu epidemic and staff called in sick, there would not be enough replacements.

Colin Everett, chief executive of the council, said: “We don’t have the same experience or cover that we once had, but in Flintshire, we have one of the lowest level sickness rates and that is down to the dedication of staff, yes we are in a delicate place right now.”

Over the last ten years, the council has saved £79m whilst protecting local services and jobs, despite being a low-funded council.

Members agreed to adopt the forecast as a basis for initial financial planning.