COUNCIL debt has fallen below the £100m mark and is at its lowest level since 1986, the authority has said.
The deficit now stands at £99.8m, down from a high of £176m in 2004, after the council embarked on a strategy of selling public buildings such as The Sands End Community Centre and Palingswick House, which it says were 'under-used'.
Outgoing leader Stephen Greenhalgh says the council's stance has paid off and will free millions of pounds to spent on frontline council services, but opponents criticised the strategy, calling it 'short-termist'.
Opposition council Labour leader Stephen Cowan said: "It's good the council is paying off its borrowings but they are doing this by selling off much-loved community buildings at the bottom of the market. It is a short-term approach that is undercutting tax payers, essentially."
Mr Greenhalgh said: "Strong local government requires a strong balance sheet and I am proud that we have been able to cut council debt to its lowest level in a generation while reducing council tax to among the lowest levels in the country."
