A £136.83 million budget – including a 5.98 per cent council tax increase, savings of £15.5 million and reduction of up to 40 posts – will come before the executive board.

The 2018-19 budget proposals will be put to members at their Town Hall meeting on Monday.

If approved, it will be referred to the full council for a vote on February 26.

Amid budget cuts from central Government, the council estimates that it will bring in £4.5 million of income from its investment of Birchwood Park, £1 million from loans to registered housing providers, £500,000 from a joint venture energy company and £200,000 income from penalty charge notices issued to motorists unlawfully driving in bus lanes.

But deputy council leader Cllr Russ Bowden, executive board member for corporate finance, said a further £38 million worth of savings need to be achieved over the next four years.

In his report, he added: "These proposals build upon the work that has been undertaken by the council in previous financial years to address budget challenges and to ensure that over the next 12 months there will be a further underpinning of the council's medium-term financial plan.

"The formulation of the budget has been influenced by the continuation of the major cuts that national Government has imposed on local government since the 2010 spending review and, given shrinking resources, an ambition to become financially sustainable through longer term planning rather than just one-year planning.

"This will enable the council to deliver financial stability and investment opportunities through a long-term efficiency programme based on sound financial management arrangements.

"It was announced in the provisional settlement of December 2017 that Warrington's Government funding has fallen by a further 9.1 per cent in 2018-19.

"This equates to a drop in Government funding of £3.6 million, which is equivalent to over £17 per Warrington resident."

The authority's 'invest to save' programme and commercial activities are forecast to contribute £10.5 million to this year's budget, with finance chiefs expecting them to contribute £25 million in five years when all the schemes 'reach maturity' after completion.

It is estimated that the proposals will lead to a maximum reduction of 40 council posts, with the 'deletion of vacant posts and approval of voluntary redundancies keeping the need for compulsory redundancies to a minimum'.