The last year has seen inflation, rising energy bills, and falls in income from car parks and leisure centres put more and more pressure on council budgets across Merseyside.
This has prompted questions about how councils spend their money, particularly with projected deficits climbing into the millions for some councils. Wirral Council is projected to have a deficit of £49m next year while Liverpool Council faces a blackhole of £73m.
This week, the city council announced a large number of proposals to balance the books including potentially cutting services, reviewing libraries and leisure centres, as well as possible fee and council tax increases.
