A HUNDRED Colchester Council posts are to go as councillors try to save millions of pounds.

Chief executive Adrian Pritchard revealed 35 posts had already been lost, through redundancies or failing to fill vacancies.

A further 35 have been earmarked for the chop and he predicted 30 more would go to help achieve savings planned for the next financial year.

Overall, the council expects to lose a tenth of its workforce as public sector spending cuts bite.

Council tax increases have been ruled out, even though the council still needs to save £1.3million more to avoid an overspend.

That means cuts are inevitable, along with other measures which would balance the books.

Mr Pritchard said he had even put his own job on the line, by approaching neighbouring councils to investigate sharing senior managers. He said: “We have not had any interest so far, but we think one chief executive could work for two councils.

“It would be a case of the councils agreeing to share and then advertising for a joint chief exec.

“In the current situation, this kind of thing is inevitable. It is better to share managers than make frontline staff redundant.”

Government grant funding to local authorities will be cut under the Comprehensive Spending Review, the results of which will be announced next week.

Ministers have already axed planning grants which used to bring Colchester more than £1million, as a fast-growing town.

Town Hall savings of about £1.4million have already been identified, but a further £1.3million must be found by April.

Mr Pritchard said he was looking for individual measures, each of which would save at least £100,000. If job cuts don’t prove to be enough, the council will have to look again at increasing fees and charges, with cuts to frontline services a last resort.

Labour council cabinet member Tim Young revealed a secret “longlist” of services which could be axed had already been prepared. It made for uncomfortable reading, he said, adding: “It is a list of things we don’t want to do but may have to do.

“That includes some frontline services where cuts would be very difficult and unpopular.”