Kent County Council is set to vote on a budget today that will see £97m of savings and the shedding of a further 460 jobs.

County councillors are expected to back a freeze on the council tax which will see bills pegged at the same level as last year.

The government has provided KCC with a £12m grant to absorb the impact of a freeze, but it is one-off money.

There will also be a modest 1% pay rise for staff and a new £12m initiative to help people get a foot on the housing ladder by helping with mortgages.

The scheme is likely to be run in conjunction with local district and borough councils.

The council’s ruling Conservative administration, which set out its £2.2bn spending package at the end of last year, will say the budget will spare key services for the county’s most vulnerable residents from the axe.

However, less money will be spent in some areas and the authority is cushioning the blow by taking £6m out of its reserves.

The budget will also pave the way for a shake-up in the youth service and a re-organisation of libraries.

Some charges for services will increase and the council says it aims to raise £13m through its trading activities and extra government grants.

KCC is facing unprecedented pressure on its finances as it deals with a 28% cut in government grants over four years.

At the same time, it is coping with rising demand for some services, notably in social care for the elderly where it is having to find an extra £12m.

It has also had to find £22m to help turn around services for vulnerable children, which were heavily criticised by Ofsted in 2010 but are steadily improving.

Opposition Labour councillors are expected to propose a 2.5% increase in the council tax, saying that would avoid some of the cuts being planned.

Our politcal editor Paul Francis will be tweeting from the budget meeting today.

Follow him by clicking the button above - and use the hashtag #kccbudget to join the debate on Twitter.