Flood protection and house-building will be on the agenda when Stirling Council meets next week to decide on its latest budget.
The Labour-led administration has already outlined its five-year spending plans. They plan to invest £25 million in the area’s roads and £3.5m on installing energy efficient street lighting.
A £3m investment will go towards flood protection schemes in Aberfoyle, Callander and Bridge of Allan, while new primary schools will be built at Cowie and St Ninians, at a cost of £15m.
The council also plans to build 405 new affordable homes, while investing in existing housing stock.
Council leader Johanna Boyd said: “Priority-based budgeting has shown the council’s commitment to listening to residents’ priorities for council services in challenging financial times for everyone.
“Among the council’s spending priorities are flood protection, roads investment, improved children’s services, social work and better frontline services.
“We have also committed more funds to major capital projects over the next five years.”
Councillor Neil Benny, deputy leader of the council and finance committee, said: “Stirling Council faces and will continue to face a difficult time to balance the books, like all other Scottish councils.
“This administration remains committed to face up to these challenges, whilst protecting front line services. Doing this despite the uncertainty caused by the SNP Government’s constitutional upheaval is even more difficult.
“Stirling needs investment today, and we cannot wait on vague promises of jam tomorrow after the independence referendum.
“We are taking action now to prepare the Stirling Council area for the economic recovery exploring different ways of funding capital investment projects.
“This will help us to save money in the longer term and help to ensure Stirling’s economic prosperity.”
Conservative depute leader, Martin Earl, urged the SNP opposition to make an alternative budget plan available to the public.
He said: “The Labour-Conservative partnership budget proposals have now been published and are available for scrutiny.
“I would hope and expect the SNP group to do the same and allow the public to see what they offer rather than repeat their failure to do so last year making them the first opposition group in the history of Stirling Council not to produce a set of alternative budget proposals.”
However SNP group leader, Scott Farmer, hit back, accusing the council leaders of “(spinning) their budget cuts to the press”.
He said: “Rather than listening to members of the Tory-Labour administration blowing their own horns in the press, I’ll wait to read the details of their budget proposals when they eventually get round to publishing them ahead of next week’s budget-setting meeting.
“Last year, council staff bore the brunt of this administration’s cuts, and the subsequent industrial dispute severely damaged services.”