FINANCE bosses in Tendring claim the district council is in a strong position, despite facing £2million of cuts next year.

Tom Howard, Tendring Council’s new cabinet member for finance, said the authority would be aiming to raise extra income to help tackle the shortfall in funding from the Government.

This year’s Tendring Council budget was £14million – down from £22million in 2010.

It is expected that the Government will cut its grant to the district by a further £2million next year.

Mr Howard said: “It remains important to highlight that we still face significant financial challenges over the next few years, not least the estimated £2million budget gap in 2016/17 due to the ongoing reductions in Government funding.

“However, we remain in a strong financial position to meet these challenges, along with continuing to invest in our priorities.”

The council currently has £11million in reserves, including a £3million austerity reserve.

Former Tendring Council boss Mick Page, who lost his seat at the local elections last month, previously called for the authority to become self-sufficient within the next four years so it would not need to rely on the Government grant.

He said the council should invest in leisure and tourism to raise funds.

Mr Howard said the “low-hanging fruit” had already been removed in terms of cuts, but added more efficiencies could be made.

The finance boss will be speaking to council officers about how the authority can boost its income.