by political editor Paul Francis

Councils across Kent are facing the prospect of having to make more budget cuts next year after the government announced a further squeeze on the amount of money they would get.

The government says budgets will be cut on average by 1.7% in 2013-2014, but some councils will take a harder hit - making it potentially more challenging to balance their books - after successive years dealing with the government's austerity measures.

Kent County Council, already paring back £60m this year,will see government grants cut by 1.9%, representing in the region of £20million, while Medway will see funding cut by 1.5%, a little under the national average.

Thanet will be hardest hit, seeing a cut of 3.7%. In contrast, Ashford will get 3.9% more in government money.

Communities secretary Eric Pickles said the council would have to make do with less and challenged them to be more creative about saving the taxpayer money.

KCC leader Paul Carter said it is "running on empty"

But a guide to councils issued by the government on how to save money drew criticism. It included the idea of opening a coffee shop in libraries to generate income.

Mr Pickles said: "Councils that put their thinking caps on now can save precious taxpayer pennies next year by cutting out waste and transforming frontline services that vulnerable people rely on."

He also pointed the finger at councils hiking up council tax, saying they had a moral duty to freeze bills. But already this year, four Conservative-run councils in Kent are defying the edict and planning rises of up to 2%.

In a statement, KCC said it had yet to receive all the details from the government about the funding settlement and could not comment intelligently.

But earlier this week, KCC leader Cllr Paul Carter said councils would struggle to cope with less money.

"I've said the tank is now running on empty and I think we've got to be very careful that we don't send local government over the brink," he said.

He also was cautious about government claims that many councils could dip into their reserves to avoid service cuts.

"I think some of the reserves that are published in local government are over-egged. We in Kent have had to dip into our reserves in the current year and will dip into our reserves next year, but you've always got to maintain a prudent level."