Shoppers could pay a lot more to park in Gravesend in the future to pay for the council's overspending.

It is one of the options being discussed on Tuesday night to rescue the council's spending plans up to April.

Also on the cards are job cuts and wage reductions among the 550 staff.

The price of dying may also cost more. The crisis could force up burial charges.

Councillors have been warned they need to find over £1 million to balance the books.

Two meetings last week came to no clear answer as to where the blame lies, though council finance chiefs said they had warned in management meetings that the figures were unlikely to balance in the weeks before the council elections.

There was a change from a Conservative council to a Labour administration in May, by which time the budget had been fixed.

From April the finances are expected to plunge further downhill.

Government grants towards Council Tax will be cut by 10 per cent, the council will be required to meet the full cost of running council housing, and the majority of business rates will be taken by the Chancellor of the Exchequer.

Gravesham council's management team report warns it is now imperative the council puts a lot more money into the bank in case of unexpected bills in the future. At the moment it gets by with a minimum of £1.25 million in the bank.

Chief executive David Hughes said: "There will be a requirement for two further rounds of budget measures to achieve a further £2 million reduction.

"These measures address the first tranche of reductions and there will be two further tranches in the future.

"It will be necessary to further review standard of services to be delivered, but the council needs to be in a strong position to deal with the risks that such issues will bring."

Mr Hughes began work at the council in August when his predecessor, Glyn Thomson, retired.

For an update on the first round of cuts, buy Thursday's Gravesend Messenger.