SCRIMPING and saving to the tune of more than £350,000 has been made by West Devon Borough Council in an effort to keep council tax bills down next year — but the grim warning this week is that paring down cannot go on forever.

Councillors at Tuesday's meeting of the borough's policy committee heard that all budgets had been put under 'rigorous scrutiny' to balance the books.

As a result, the proposed budget for the next financial year is just £68,962 more than the current year.

Treasurer Lesley Halton told members the Government's standard spending assessment for West Devon has increased by 8.2 per cent.

But the way in which this settlement was funded meant central government funding had actually decreased, said Ms Halton.

She said: 'Clearly, insufficient funds have been made available to the council to meet unavoidable inflationary, legislative and demographic cost pressures or public demand.

'Over seven years, the financial burden for funding council services has been increasingly pushed onto the council tax payer.'

Cllr Roger Mathew said the budget progress report brought 'no major shocks' but the situation could not go on much longer.

Cllr Mathew said: 'Year after year we get nearer and nearer the bone — sooner or later there are going to be some shocks and the council will have to look at wholesale change of policy in some areas, simply to have enough money to keep services going at an acceptable level.'

Cllr Peter Hill, chairman of the committee, said: 'It has been a particularly grim year. It's getting tougher all the time to meet the budget.'

Despite financial pressures, West Devon has managed to introduce initiatives aimed at improving life in the borough.

These include providing extra rate relief for sporting bodies and post offices and the new recycling service, which saw a weekly collection of recyclables, including glass, begin last year, replacing the previous fortnightly service.

Commenting on the budget setting process on Tuesday, Cllr Dick Eberlie said: 'The committees have worked very hard, with the support of officers, and have spent a great deal of time and effort so that the council tax increase is not quite as high as it might have been.

'As far as I am aware, we have not diminished our services and that is really a significant achievement.'

West Devon's final budget total for the next financial year will be put to the policy committee on February 19 with the precept being set in March.