THE SNP group's proposal to only raise council tax by three per cent is "virtue signalling" and "short sighted" according to Fife Council leader David Ross.

His Labour minority administration are proposing a five per cent increase which they say is needed to help close a yawning budget gap of more than £11.5 million.

They say their plans will also give them over £6.4m to spend on tackling problems like potholes and holiday hunger with more cash for road repairs and Cafe Inc.

On the SNP's council tax proposal, Councillor Ross said: "It's virtue signalling. By proposing three per cent they just want to be seen to be below us.

"Some of their proposals are more about popular headlines rather than a serious approach to a balanced budget."

He said the council was faced with slashing vital local services and raising council tax as a result of a decade of underfunding by the Scottish Government, which he likened to "death by a thousand cuts".

Cllr Ross said they were fast approaching a "tipping point" and stated: "Local authorities across Scotland are going to face difficult decisions and will have to stop providing services."

Under their general fund revenue budget proposals for 2023-26 the administration "hope to avoid" making cuts to staff numbers this year.

However, in a statement Cllr Altany Craik said the council have lost more than 2,000 members of staff since 2010 and warned that they "could be forced to lose up to 500 more posts over the following two years".

Through budget realignment, accountancy measures and savings, Labour have identified £26m but said this still leaves a gap of £11.5m for this year, rising to a projected £33.2m in 2024-25 and £55.6m in 2025-26.

Cllr Craik said: "This will inevitably mean more cuts to local services, job losses and increases in council tax in the future."

In their proposals, Labour want to spend £761,000 on meeting the increased costs of subsidised bus contracts, and extra funding of £150,000 for Cafe Inc and £216,000 for the Fife Coast and Countryside Trust (FCCT).

This would bring the budget gap from £11.5m to £12.6m.

They plan to plug that gap by increasing the council tax by five per cent, which would bring in just over £9m, so the bill for residents staying in a band D property would rise by £65.96 a year.

A three per cent rise would increase band D bills by £39.58.

There's also £2m in funding for teachers, previously withdrawn by the Scottish Government but now returned to the council as part of their settlement, which reduces the figure further.

That would leave a budget gap of just over £1.5m and Labour plan to use reserves of £8m.

That would close the gap and give them just over £6.4m for 'additional temporary investment': £3.5m for roads, £2m in hardship support and around £950,000 held back for 'cost of living pressures' throughout the year, which may include supplementing the staffing in the contact centre to improve accessibility.

Cllr Ross said: "The difference between three and five per cent is about £27 a year on a band D property which, if you're getting the extra investment we're talking about and keeping services going for people that really need them, it's the right thing to do."

He said that, under the "short sighted" SNP plans, there would be no extra money for Cafe Inc and FCCT and while they were "putting a bit" into the hardship fund and roads, it wasn't as much as Labour are proposing.

Cllr Ross stated: "We think there are hidden cuts in their budget that we think are unnecessary."

He said the SNP proposals would store up problems for the future, and that opting for a three per cent rise now would see the budget gap for 2024-25 increase by an extra £3.6m.

Labour had "seriously considered" not raising it to five per cent but said they had little room for manoeuvre as around 65 per cent of their funding was ring-fenced, with the Scottish Government dictating what it must be spent on.

The council leader added: "We've dealt with budget gaps before but we're pretty much down to the bone now. I don't see an easy way through the next three years."

As a minority administration, Labour have 20 councillors out of a total of 75, they need the support of others to get their proposals passed.

Cllr Ross is hopeful they'll get that backing and said: "We met with the Lib Dems and the Tories separately and both stressed the need for more money on roads and we agreed on that.

"We met the SNP too but they didn't give much away. If they had wanted individual things in the budget they didn't raise them with us.

"If they had we may have been able to accommodate them."