The council's Director of Resources has warned about the need to urgently raise council taxes above the current 4.99% government limit for local authorities without calling a referendum.
Ahead of last year’s budget, the council was forced to apply for £48.3M Exceptional Financial Support (EFS), a government bailout loan to stave off the threat of bankruptcy.
In papers released this week for the Resources and Delivering Value Scrutiny Board, the Director of Resources (S151 Officer) warns:
Councillor Ade Adeyemo, Liberal Democrat Spokesperson for Solihull, said:
"It is shocking how bad things have got under the Conservatives' control.
"First, the Conservatives trashed the national economy. Now, they have also trashed Solihull's economy.
"After years of boasting about Solihull's finances and low council taxes, the blame for the council's poor financial state lies fairly and squarely on the Conservative administration. They cannot blame this mess on anyone else.
"What is clear from the Director of Resources' statement is that residents will be paying the price for the Conservative's mismanagement of Solihull's finances for years to come.
"My priority as Leader of the Liberal Democrat Group is to protect our residents and minimise the impact on the poorest and most vulnerable people in Solihull.
"Local residents will have the opportunity on May 7th to vote out the Conservatives who have taken the council to the verge of bankruptcy.
"We need positive change for Solihull - change that can only be delivered with calm heads and by working together to make things better. The Liberal Democrats can deliver that change.
"What we don't need is more division in our society. The people of Solihull must now stand shoulder-to-shoulder with our neighbours and call for a new administration that values transparency, openness and tolerance".
Solihull and Meriden Liberal Democrats
We represent Liberal Democrat Members, Volunteers, Campaigners, Councillors and Candidates within the Local Authority area of Solihull Metropolitan Borough Council.
The Local Authority area straddles three separate parliamentary constituencies - the Solihull West and Shirley constituency, the Meriden and Solihull East constituency and the two Solihull wards in the Birmingham Hodge Hill and Solihull North constituency.
Liberal Democrats in Solihull and Meriden have a long record of action for the community, fighting hard for local residents on issues that are important to local residents.
