WEST Somerset Council has sealed its half of the deal to take the first formal steps towards a link-up with neighbouring Taunton Deane Borough Council.

On Wednesday, councillors agreed to set aside £30,000 towards the cost of drawing-up a business case for the sharing of services and management between the two authorities.

Council leader, Conservative Cllr Tim Taylor, said agreeing the funding pot was one of the most important decisions district councillors had ever faced as the very future of the authority was at stake.

"This is taking this council a stage further in the process," he said.

"We are trying to do the very best for the people of West Somerset within our diminishing resources.

"Until we have seen the business plan we do not know if this is going to work for us or Taunton Deane.

"The risks are huge, of course, as we are talking about the very future of local democracy in West Somerset."

Councillors agreed at the end of last year to work on a business case with Taunton Deane which would prove either way if sufficient savings could be made by both councils through the sharing of services and staff.

Although West Somerset has enough money to continue providing services until at least 2015, its long-term future is bleak, with experts from the Local Government Association warning the council could soon become financially unviable.

Increasing costs and Government under-funding have been blamed for the council's predicament.

Cllr Taylor warned that Taunton Deane councillors could still decide not to support the venture when they meet on Monday (March 4) to discuss whether to allocate resources to a business plan.

And he said that even if the vote was favourable, there was still no guarantee the figures in the business plan would stack up.

"If it does not work out with Taunton Deane it is very unlikely it would work out sharing with any other local authority," Cllr Taylor warned. "And there is no Plan B."

He said Taunton Deane had made it clear they wanted to share in the process to save themselves money in the long run.

Cllr Taylor added: "It is important we remain democratically separate. We will make our own democratic decisions and act independently of each other even if we do have a shared officer core.

"This is a big moment for our council and we wait with bated breath for the decision from Taunton Deane on March 4.

"If it is positive, I look forward to the two councils marching forward together."

The overwhelming majority of councillors, both Independent and Conservative, voted in favour of the plan, but Independent Ian Melhuish voted against and Conservatives Martin Dewdney and Mandy Chilcott abstained.

Councillors were told the Government had announced a new £9 million funding pot to help local authorities save money through the sharing of resources and there were hopes much of the costs could eventually be recouped through the fund.

Labour councillor Peter Murphy said he was hopeful the three Labour members of Taunton Deane Borough Council would support the business plan proposal, while Cllr Taylor said he was confident there would be a positive outcome from Monday night's meeting.