East Staffordshire Borough Council has frozen or reduced council tax for the ninth year in a row - while five jobs are being shed as the authority is hit by reduced Government funding.
The authority has faced a reduction in money to run its services from Government every year since 2010-11, with £6.1 million less to spend than when the Coalition Government wrested control from Labour in 2010.
Council tax will cover £6.1 million (57 per cent) of the £10.7 million budget to be spent by the borough council this year, compared to £6.4 million of the £16.6 million spent in 2010/11 (38 per cent).
The borough council has had its funding from Government slashed by 74 per cent since 2010, and this will grow to 79 per cent by next year.
Its cash from central Government has fallen by £6.1 million, which will reach £6.5 million in 2019, with other grants, funds and council tax partially plugging the gap.
As a result of austerity measures, the borough council is cutting five members of staff this year, which will be met by early retirements and "realignment" of some of its services.
This includes jobs in street-cleaning, land charges and planning, and environmental health.
The authority has frozen its portion of council tax for the ninth year in a row.
Council leader Councillor Richard Grosvenor said that he was delighted that the plans had been approved, despite "significant financial challenges."
He said: "I’m delighted that the medium-term financial strategy was approved.
"Despite significant financial challenges, the council was able to adopt a strategy which is both prudent and affordable, whilst freezing East Staffordshire Borough Council’s element of the council tax for our residents.
"We will continue to ensure that the services provided by the council are of value for money."
But Leader of the Labour opposition at East Staffordshire Borough Council, Councillor Michael Fitzpatrick said the ruling group's strategy was a risk.
"It's a risk and not what I would do. I would follow suit with what the Government outlined and what the majority of councils are doing and increase council tax by what is allowed to protect services.
"No matter how many people are shouting, it will protect frontline services. At the moment, they will be stretched.
"You're losing the ability to increase income from one area which puts services at risk."
Meanwhile, Sajid Javid, the communities secretary, said the financial settlement for councils for 2018/19 "strikes a balance between relieving growing pressure on local government while ensuring that hard-pressed taxpayers do not face excessive bills."
But council chiefs have warned that the level of cuts faced over the past seven years are increasingly unsustainable.
The Local Government Association, which represents councils across the country, said falling budgets and rising demand for social care and other services had left town halls "close to the edge."
Earlier this year, Conservative-run Northamptonshire County Council effectively declared itself bankrupt, saying it was unable to meet its financial obligations.
Leader Heather Smith put this down to a "perfect storm" including demand for services and reduction in Government funding, making their financial position "unsustainable," forcing it to put a ban on almost all spending.
A recent report by the Local Government Information Unit found three-quarters of councils were set to raise council tax by the legal maximum of 5.99 per cent this year.
Staffordshire County Council is raising its share by 5.95 per cent, compared to 4.99 per cent in Derbyshire.
