Hounslow Council's share of the council tax is set to be frozen again, under plans announced by the ruling Labour group.
The government had given local authorities the leeway to increase council tax by up to 2% for 2016/17 to cover the cost of providing adult social care.
But Councillor Theo Dennison, Hounslow Council 's cabinet member for finance, said he expected to be in a "very small minority" of councils not taking up that offer of a hike their share of council tax.
London mayor Boris Johnson is planning a £19 decrease in his share of the levy for band D homes, which would result in households across the borough of Hounslow paying slightly less.
Cllr Dennison said the council was squeezing its finances to the limit to avoid increasing council tax, which he said would have hit the poorest and most vulnerable hardest.
"We've checked down the sofa and emptied everyone's pockets"
"This has probably been the toughest year since 2010/11 when the austerity regime started," he told getwestlondon .
"We've checked down the sofa, emptied everyone's pockets and told the heads of departments they will need to manage spending extremely tightly.
"It's a bit like when the red light goes on in your car. You're running on empty but you know there are actually a few miles in the tank, and that's the same with our budget for 2016/17."
He said the council had been disappointed by the local government settlement, announced in December, which he said left it £4m worse off for the coming year than it had expected.
However, he said it would look to find in-year savings to ensure it did not overspend, while protecting essential services.
The budget proposals are set to go before cabinet members on February 9 and full council on February 23, where they are likely to be rubber-stamped.
Public Q&A on the budget to be held in Chiswick
Members of the public will get to quiz council leader Steve Curran and members of his cabinet about the budget at a public question time in Chiswick Town Hall on Wednesday, February 17, at 7pm.
Should the council tax freeze be approved it would be the 10th year running it has been maintained or cut in Hounslow.
Mr Dennison said the council needed to slash its budget for 2016/17 by £23.7m, due to a reduction in its central government grant, with about half those cuts having been made in its first tranche of savings which were approved last year.
He said the remainder of the necessary savings would come partly from negotiating its contracts for the management of parks and leisure services, held by Carillion and Fusion respectively.
He also told getwestlondon controlled parking zone (CPZ) permits would rise to £80 for the first car, though he said this was mainly to cover the cost of administering the scheme.
Parking charges are also due to be reviewed but he said any increases would be subject to public consultation.
Council rent in the borough would fall by 1% under the budget proposals, having risen significantly in recent years to meet government requirements to bring it in line with private rent.
A change in government policy means housing associations now required to cut the amount charged to social housing tenants.
Council tax for a band D property in the borough currently stands at £1,374.77 a year, including the mayor of London's £295 precept.
