Councillors welcomed extra cash from the Scottish Government for councils which agreed not to raise the tax.

They are expecting to get an additional £1.8m – equivalent to a 3% increase.

But the settlement from Holyrood – currently £196m – came under fire from opposition councillors, with claims it shows “utter contempt” for local government.

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The council agreed to take £3m from reserves to cut the budget shortfall to £5.5m.

With the area’s culture and leisure trust and health and social care partnership set to identify their own savings, the council needs to find £3.5m of cuts.

However, that figure could reduce once the Scottish and UK Governments finalise their budgets later this month.

Councillors will meet again, on March 15, to agree “savings” and “spending plans” for 2021/22. Directors have outlined savings options totalling £9.4m.

Council leader Tony Buchanan said the £196m settlement was a 0.45% like for like increase on last year, whereas forecasts had been based on a 1% cut.

“We have been able to reduce some of the more challenging savings the council was facing,” he added.

Taking £3m from reserves makes the council’s “safety net now much smaller”, he said.

“It may not be possible to use such high levels of reserves in the future.

“But given the particular financial challenges facing the council and so many East Renfrewshire residents this year, we felt it important to make this substantial commitment, which will help us avoid more extensive reductions to vital services.”

He said £3.5m of savings would be “painful” but “won’t be to the same degree as just a few months ago”.

“The hope is negotiations on the Scottish budget will deliver extra funding which may allow us to reduce our £3.5m budget shortfall even further.”

The council leader said he fully supported the council tax freeze. Band D households will be charged £1289.96.

“We welcome the commitment by the Scottish Government to reduce household bills at a time when people are struggling from the financial consequences of Covid,” Mr Buchanan said.

Tory councillor Gordon Wallace said: “All we see is utter contempt from the Scottish Government, who seem to not recognise they depend so heavily on what we do locally.”

He added the council’s key services had been “absolutely crucial” in the last year, showing “the importance of local decision making”.

“Every year we are seeing our grant cut, cut, cut,” Mr Wallace said.

“We’re not allowed to call them cuts are we; we’re supposed to be calling them savings but in reality, they are cuts.”

Cllr Stewart Miller said he felt sorry for SNP councillors who had to put a “positive spin” on the 0.45% increase.

“With an inflation rate of 2%, we’ve actually got a 1.5% cut in real terms,” he added.

However, SNP councillor Caroline Bamforth said it was “laughable” to blame the Scottish Government “given what you see happening down south”.

Council leader Tony Buchanan

Another SNP councillor Colm Merrick said the council would need to wait for the Chancellor Rishi Sunak’s UK budget “to see how much money he will give back to Scotland from what he took”.

And Labour’s Paul O’Kane, deputy council leader, added: “Regardless of our political affiliation, we all have a duty to argue for better settlements for local government and longer settlements to aid long-term financial planning.”

An estimated £9m of Covid-19 costs are set to be met through government funding and financial flexibilities.