Council leaders only have themselves to blame for imposing swingeing cuts, a local authority boss has claimed.
Ian Gaul, leader of the Angus administration, slammed rebellious politicians who have knocked back Deputy First Minister John Swinney’s budget offer.
Council umbrella group Cosla voted by 21 to 7 to reject the “unacceptable” financial deal last week.
But SNP politician Mr Gaul said: “I do not wish to be disrespectful to my fellow council leaders but they are just making noise. They should have planned for it.
“That’s what they were put in post for, to be forward thinking and plan.”
Angus, alongside fellow Nationalist administrations in Dundee and Perth and Kinross, are backing the settlement, which will see them lose millions of pounds in funding.
Dundee’s finance convener Willie Sawers said: “I think it’s a challenging settlement but given the overall settlement the Scottish Government is faced with, I think it is fair.”
Perth and Kinross leader Ian Miller added: “The council tax freeze is, once again, fully funded and I wholeheartedly support moves to apply the Scottish Living Wage of £8.25 per hour to social care staff. I think this is long overdue.”
There is the potential for backlash in Fife, where the Labour administration is considering legal action against sanctions for raising council tax.
Authority leader David Ross said he hopes to meet Mr Swinney later this month to try to find a solution.
He added: “I think our decision (on accepting the settlement) will depend on the response we get to those things and what happens in the meantime.”
Mr Swinney said the draft budget will see up to 51,400 low income workers’ pay rise through uprating the living wage. He ruled out adopting a Labour plan to raise income tax by 1p.
Scottish Labour leader Kezia Dugdale said the £500 million raised from the policy would be used to prevent cuts to education and promised rebate schemes worth £100 a year to help low-paid workers and pensioners on a low income.
A Scottish Government source branded the move a “tax grab” but Stephen Boyd, assistant secretary of the STUC, said the proposals deserved “serious consideration”. He added the Scottish Government’s rhetoric on the issue was “not remotely helpful.”