A £4 million increase in Renfrewshire Council's predicted shortfall in just three months has been branded "quite worrying" during a key debate.
A potential black hole of £31m in the next three years, first estimated in June, has already deteriorated to £35m, painting a bleak financial picture for the local authority.
The seriousness of the situation was laid bare in a report by finance director Alastair MacArthur, who warned of the "rapidly increasing levels of risk" on the horizon and said the council's stability was "under much greater pressure" than that of the last decade.
Picking up on the paper at today's meeting, Councillor Alison Ann-Dowling, the Labour group's finance spokesperson, drew comparisons between the council's financial position and that of the economic turmoil being experienced across the United Kingdom.
She said: "The most immediate issue that jumps out upon reading this report is the jump to £35m projected shortfall from £31m just a couple of months ago, which is quite worrying and, by coincidence, seems to mirror what's going on today in our economy.
"[We're seeing] very sudden changes and movements that have presented challenges that we're all going to have to consider going forward."
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At the end of June, council agreed £35m in savings should be targeted over the next three years.
The latest report confirmed steps are underway to reduce costs and increase efficiency.
Councillor Ann-Dowling said the content of the document was "very high level" before requesting further detail be provided at the end of the year.
She said: "It's really necessary, given the scale of the financial challenges that we're facing, that we start to get some more meat on the bone.
"We need to get more financial detail, so that elected members can consider that.
"In our discussions, it was mooted that possibly December would be a reasonable time for you to come back with more financial detail, rather than just the high-level figures that we've got here."
Provost Lorraine Cameron said it may depend on whether "events overtake us" nationally before clarifying that December was a "goal" rather than a guarantee.
Mr MacArthur confirmed to councillors that his team will update any forecasts as any new financial information comes to light.
"The forecast deficit position over the next three years has increased," he said.
"I think, as we've seen over the past number of days even, the economic environment can shift quite considerably in a relatively short period of time, so trying to forecast over a three-year period is not an exact science.
"What I can commit to council is that in terms of the in-year financial position, we're absolutely determined to secure as accurate a forecast as is possible given the uncertainties that are still around."
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