ANGLESEY councillors say tough economic decisions lie ahead in the wake of the authority being allocated the lowest amount of funding in Wales by the Welsh Assembly.
The annual settlement for the county saw a total of £94.5 million allocated to the Island for the 2010/11 - which despite being a one per cent increase from last year, falls far below the Welsh average of a 2.1 per cent increase.
Council leader Clive McGregor warned that the Island faced a number of difficult years in an attempt to make up the deficit.
He said: “Local government is now feeling the full force of the recession and, as in industry and other sectors, we will certainly have to endure a number of lean years.
“In the case of Anglesey, this will undoubtedly mean many tough choices for the county council as we must prioritise public spending.”
Meanwhile Gwynedd Council came out slightly better with £170.2 million of Assembly funding, working out at around £1,440 per county resident, £70 more per head than their Island counterparts.
Cllr Dyfed Edwards, leader of Gwynedd’s authority, said: “Naturally, this news is very disappointing but it isn’t unexpected.
“Gwynedd Council has been preparing for some months to cope with such a situation and we have made every effort to ensure efficiency savings by being proactive.
“Inevitably, this will have an adverse effect on services because of the size of the deficit we face in our budget.”
The funds are typically spent to subsidise the provision of public services, including education, health and refuse collection.