Dudley councillors are set to vote on what may be the most important budget in the authority’s 50-year history.

Unexpected bills of around £12m and low reserves pushed the council to the brink of going bust but the ruling Conservative group believes they are now well on the way to recovery.

On February 24 the full council will vote on plans for around £42m in savings and spending worth a total of around £367m in the 2025/26 financial year.

The budget is part of plans for the next five years – referred to as the Medium Term Financial Strategy (MTFS).

Councillor Patrick Harley, leader of Dudley Council, said: “Like so many authorities across the country, we have faced unprecedented challenges to our finances but have had to make some very tough decisions to balance the books.

“We have moved away from the threat of bankruptcy by making difficult decisions now, which is improving our position for the long term.”

The proposals include big changes to save big money, including the deletion of more than 220 vacancies, cutting nearly £10m, and saving £1.2m by restructuring senior management roles.

Services under threat include Living Well Feeling Safe which supports vulnerable and older people, the Welfare Rights Team which advises people on benefits claims, Dementia Hubs will reduce from three to two while a range of voluntary services for adults and children will see a reduction in financial support totalling around £800,000.

The Labour opposition group plans to present alternative proposals which retain support for voluntary services, paid for by shelving parts of the management restructure which create senior management jobs and altering the amount paid back into reserves.

Cllr Pete Lowe, Dudley Labour group leader, said: “If you cut the voluntary sector as significantly as this budget does, you drive the most vulnerable people in our community back to the council because the voluntary sector will not be there to provide essential support.

“As a result, the reserves they are anticipating will never be realised.”

The council has a legal obligation to agree on a balanced budget, but the result of the vote on the Tory plan is not guaranteed.

The Conservatives have the most seats on the 72-member authority with 35 councillors, while Labour has 31. Labour opposition to the Conservative budget is likely to have the support of two independent councillors.

Former Conservative Cllr Shaun Keasey has already said he will not support the Tory plan while ex-Labour councillor Steve Edwards was recently kicked out of the party for criticising the Prime Minister who he says offers ‘no help to the working classes’.

The final say could rest with the Unity Group, made up of three Liberal Democrats and one independent – Labour defector Cllr Andrew Tromans.

So far, the group’s leader, Cllr Ryan Priest, has not indicated whether he supports the Conservative budget.

There is speculation in the corridors of power that the Tories offered concessions on issues which the Unity Group have campaigned on when they pledged to keep leisure centres out of the budget and proposed a Cradley town council feasibility study, in a bid to secure the vital four votes.

In a recent vote on increasing council rent and changes of levels of council tax relief the Unity Group abstained.

A similar tactic in the budget vote would allow it to pass and no doubt spark accusations of supporting the Conservatives.