Fife Council’s Labour Party administration has been accused of “whingeing” over its budget plans.
The opposition SNP group claims that proposals set out by the administration have been miscalculated and that cuts that have been proposed are not necessary.
David Alexander, the party’s finance spokesperson, was offering a rebuttal to the spending plans that Labour leader David Ross set out ahead of next week’s budget.
He said: “The whingeing from Labour never stops. The reality is it is never as bad as they predict.
“In August the budget gap was supposedly over £43 million. In December it was reduced to an estimated £35 million. Today, it is barely £20 million.”
Mr Ross said that around 279 full-time equivalent jobs will be lost at Fife Council over the next three years, as spending cuts from the Scottish Government take hold.
A new efficiencies programme, Enabling Change, was also unveiled by the council leader, which is expected to save around £35 million over the next three years.
He was outlining his party’s spending plans ahead of next Thursday’s budget meeting at Fife House, although there is a possibility that some aspects of the proposals will be revised.
The SNP has said that it will table an amended budget, although it is likely to be rejected.
Claiming that Labour’s numbers do not add up, Mr Alexander added: “Labour also ignore the huge increase in capital funding for Fife which will help build new schools, and the extra millions from the Scottish Government that will play a part in delivering thousands of affordable houses in Fife.
“Labour budgets always understate income and overstate the costs.
“That is why, over just the last four years, Fife Council has made surpluses of over £61 million.
“In other words, when the financial year has run its course it becomes clear that many of the cuts need not have been taken.
“This has affected services in our communities and put massive pressure on front line jobs.
“This is unacceptable and this budget looks no different.”
