Disused council buildings and small plots of land could be sold off to help a local authority tackle a predicted £114 million budget shortfall.

Medway Council’s cabinet said the authority would prioritise raising revenue through higher charges and selling off assets rather than cutting services.

Savings are needed after a report showed the authority’s finances are expected to overspend by between £ 24.7 million and £31.3 million each year for the next four financial years.

Speaking on August 27, members said cutting services would pose too much of a threat to the Towns’ most vulnerable residents who rely upon them, so increasing revenue would be necessary to balance the books.

The report said the authority’s situation had improved, as the risk of the council having to file a Section 114 notice - commonly referred to as bankruptcy - had decreased from its rating of “very likely” from last year.

However, cabinet members said there were still serious challenges which required “innovative” solutions to ensure the quality of services didn’t decline.

Medway Council’s portfolio holder for education Cllr Tracy Coombs (Lab) said there was little room for further cuts and so revenue raising was the right approach.

She said: “We have got to look at innovative ways of making sure we’re still able to provide these services, we know we’ve still got some really difficult decisions to make, we made some last year and I think there is probably worse to come.

“We’ve been left with very little fat to trim because of the decisions we had to make last year and I think it’s right this report states we need to be maximising income rather than making any lesser spend on these essential services.

“It’s going to be a difficult time ahead. People in Medway are still feeling austerity with rising rents, mortgages, fuel bills, and costs - and it’s really important we try and do everything we can to minimise our impact on our vulnerable people.”

The report states that because the council has had years of reductions in spend and efficiency improvements, the authority will have to look towards maximising tax bases, recovering more debt it is owed, and increasing council fees and charges.

One possibility the council is actively considering is identifying council buildings which aren’t being used and selling them off.

Portfolio holder for business management Cllr Zoe Van Dyke (Lab) said: “Discussions have already begun about assets we own that we don’t necessarily need.

“We’ve had a community group already come forward to say they want to buy a small piece of land to extend services for young people with their sailing club.

“It’s a small thing at the moment, but there is a discussion going on about what properties we don’t need to keep and that can deliver revenue for us.”

Council leader Vince Maple added: “We inherited a budget that, year on year, had to have £4 million of disposables [selling of council property] that was never met - not once.

“Like many things, you can put them on the market for sale but if nobody wants to buy them you’re stuck with an asset you don’t want - so then it is about looking at those partnership approaches.

“I think there will be a number of those; as we move through that substantial list of properties and land we’ll see a vast array of options from traditional sale to a co-operative approach, to assets of community value.”

Councillors also added changes such as the introduced charges at country parks had received criticism from residents, but that it was the right choice over making cuts to services.

The report predicted spending requirements are to increase by £50 million by April 2028/29, but available funding is only expected to rise by £30 million.

The children and adults services department’s budget is expected to grow the most by £40 million to £364 million in 2028/29, and the regeneration, culture and environment spend is expected to increase by £15 million in the same time.

However, some areas are expected to improve for the authority, as the council’s investment in streamlining its IT system, known as Medway 2.0, is anticipated to save £35 million by April 2029.

This is the latest warning of financial troubles facing Medway Council since last month when the authority was predicted to overspend its budget for this year by £16.5 million.

It has until February to reduce costs or raise more revenue in order to form a balanced budget for the next year.

The report outlining the council’s financial expectations until 2029 was agreed unanimously by the cabinet.