CAR parking charges look likely to increase and grants to some charities could be cut as West Somerset Council again battles to balance its books in the face of the ongoing Government funding squeeze.

The Council Tax may go up by at least 1.99 per cent and fees and charges increased across the board.

Even the council's own much trumpeted eco-friendly woodchip boiler could be sidelined in favour of cheaper gas heating at the authority's Williton's headquarters to save up to £4,000 a year.

But residents are being warned things could be much worse as the authority has already saved £307,000 by joining forces with Taunton Deane Borough Council to share staff and services.

As a result, a predicted budget shortfall of £316,000 in July has been reduced to £51,000 but means more savings still need to be found for the 2015-16 financial year.

The authority has already found £64,354 of savings by trimming departmental budgets across the board.

This includes cutting the grant to arts consortium Artlife by £6,245, taking it from £12,645 to £6,400 and trimming the grant given to children's charity CLOWNS by £5,602.

Officers said the CLOWNS funding cut would bring the charity's contribution from the council down to £3,000, in line with grants also given to Engage West Somerset and Home-Start West Somerset.

A £38,000 grant to the West Somerset Advice Bureau appears to be safe at the moment, although the Quantock Hills AONB service is facing a 50 per cent funding cut from just under £10,000 to £5,000.

The authority has yet to put a percentage figure on its proposals for car parking increases, but is estimating it could generate an additional £35,000 in income.

Finance lead member Cllr Kate Kravis urged councillors and West Somerset residents to look at the bigger picture and to remember all the frontline and non-statutory services that were being protected.

She said the council still provided some public toilets, dog bins, road sweeping, sand clearance and lighting schemes across the district.

"We still have a huge amount of money to find as we're still uncertain as to how much the Government is going to give us this time but we still have some avenues to explore.

"It's miraculous the savings we have already found without affecting frontline services.

"Nobody likes putting up charges but I think it has to be done this year - we're not out of the woods yet, but were coming to the edge of the undergrowth," Cllr Kravis said at Monday's scrutiny meeting.

Council leader Cllr Tim Taylor said he was confident the remaining £51,000 budget gap could be closed but warned tough times still lay ahead as the authority could be £841,000 adrift in just four years' time.

Cllr Taylor said: "We have to make some very difficult decisions on funding in the new year.

"We may have to make some unfortunate cuts when it comes to it but we can't give grants if we don't have the money there to pay for it."

He challenged scrutiny members to come up with alternative savings if they wanted to protect grants to ARTlife, CLOWNS and the ANOB but no suggestions were forthcoming.

Cllr Taylor said the partnership with Taunton Deane was still work in progress so definitive figures would not be available for another few months.

But he added: "Our joint officer team is not only providing valuable savings but making West Somerset Council more resilient, while helping to protect the front line services that are valued by the people of West Somerset.

"We remain a democratically independent council - but a council with the benefit of a shared team.

"West Somerset and Taunton Deane are the first councils in Somerset to take this step.

"With the continued pressure on the public purse I am sure other councils will look at what we are doing and note we have achieved so far."

Scrutiny member Cllr Martin Dewdney said, short of finding a fairy godmother, the council had no choice but to increase charges and cut grants.

And Cllr Mandy Chilcott, also on the scrutiny committee, said: "I'm sure all of us here are torn as to what to do.

"None of it is easy, whether it's car parking or grants . . . but it could have been a lot worse than this."

Shirlene Adams, the council's director of operations and deputy chief executive, said: "The financial challenge remains serious and members are encouraged to continue to engage in the budget process and carefully consider the difficult decisions that will be needed to produce a balanced budget for 2015/16.

"The expectation is that funding from Government will continue to decline, placing pressure on our local budgets and services to our community."

The council should hear in the next week or so how much central Government funding it will receive in the forthcoming year.

A final budget decision will be taken by the full council in February.