They’ve been asked to slash £152m from their budget.
But Kirklees Council’s finance chiefs have held their hands up and said: “We’re £7m short and it’s going to get worse.”.
With a deadline of February for achieving a balanced budget for 2016/17, top officials have admitted their sums don’t add up.
The “funding gap” has come despite a £15m contribution from council reserves towards the 2016/17 target.
And officials fear the gap will only grow, rising to £12m in 2017/18 and £28m by 2018/19.
The council already took £12m from reserves this financial year to mitigate a £25m funding gap, achieving the rest through cuts.
The remaining reserves need to be saved for future years.
A forecast predicts just £5m of the £38m reserves held at the start of this year will be left by 2019.
Kirklees Council cuts
The cash crisis will be outlined to top councillors next week, who are likely to have to agree further cuts.
A public consultation on what to cut and what to keep will be launched this autumn.
But the Chancellor’s Autumn Statement could change the picture again with some noises that even deeper cuts will be called for.
Kirklees has already bore the brunt of £83m savings between 2011 and 2015 and is working to slash £69m more by 2018, following further austerity cuts by the government.
Clr Graham Turner, cabinet member for resources, said: “I believe it’s important that the residents of Kirklees fully understand the financial position we are in, and understand the difficult decisions we have to make as to how we deliver vital services with an ever shrinking budget.
“It’s important that we protect those services that meet real needs, such as care for the elderly, dementia suffers, vulnerable children and adults - the list goes on.
“Part of this is in the way we will have to work differently – members of the public are now seeing some of the changes, for example in waste collections – that are helping us to still deliver a high standard of service but in a way which helps us save money.
“Managing our borrowing to ensure we get the best available savings on interest rates, and having an eye on national issues like pay agreements also has to be factored into the plans.
“I want to put as much of the information and advice we receive as possible in the public domain.
“We broadly know our position for the next couple of years, and we will continue to have to make difficult decisions to meet our aims.”
At the council’s Cabinet meeting on Tuesday, officers will highlight the key savings targets and a provisional budget strategy, as well as guidance on forecast inflation and borrowing rates, impact of national agreements on public sector pay and on the introduction of the living wage, and public consultation arrangements.
The new Medium Term Financial Plan will be outlined and the quandary of the £7m gap discussed.
