Councils 'largely unprepared' for deep cuts ahead, says WLGA 16 October 2013 Last updated at 07:22 Councils are largely unprepared for the scale of cuts coming their way, claims the body which represents them. The warning from the Welsh Local Government Association (WLGA) comes before individual council budgets are revealed by ministers on Wednesday. Last week ministers announced local government funding in Wales would be cut by 5.81% in real terms next year. One council has already announced plans to shut more than half its libraries and close day centres. On Monday Rhondda Cynon Taf council was the latest to announce plans for deep cuts, saying it needed to save £56m over the next four years. Councils have known for months that they will have many millions less to run public services such as social care, school dinners, leisure centres and roads than they have had this year or, for that matter, the year before. On Wednesday, each council will hear exactly how much it will be given from the Welsh government - and that cash accounts for 80% of council income. Across Wales local authorities know that when they hear the amount they will get, it will no longer be about tightening belts or pay freezes but about coping with deep cuts in funding. They may have to axe some services that we take for granted or get a private company or a voluntary group to take it over. One thing is certain, big changes are on the way. From April, Welsh councils will receive £4.6bn from the Welsh government which is £175m less than last year. They get roughly the same proportion, with allowances if they have for instance a higher proportion of older people or school pupils, more roads or if they represent sparsely populated areas. On top of that 40% of council money is ring-fenced for schools and around 25% is protected for social services. That leaves 35% for everything else - rubbish collections, parks and libraries, the long-term debts - and it is here that cuts will fall. Its cost-saving proposals also included children starting full-time school a year later. Last week the Welsh government announced its draft budget with the Welsh NHS receiving £570m of extra funding over three years. The decision left less money available for local authorities. Total local government spending in Wales will fall from £4.648bn this year to £4.466bn next year, a cut in cash terms of 3.91%, or 5.81% in real terms, after allowing for inflation. In a report for the assembly's finance committee, the WLGA tells assembly members: "While local government is aware of the deteriorating situation regarding the Welsh government budget, it is probably unprepared for the scale of reductions that is likely to be visited on local finances for 2014-15." The association said most medium-term plans councils had published were based on more optimistic indications they had from Welsh minsters last year. The document warned that "seasoned finance practitioners" at councils were worried that they had less than six months to plan the steeper cuts in time for the new financial year in April. "The extent to which sensible service and workforce planning can be achieved in such a short period has to be questioned," the WLGA said. It added that local councils in England and Scotland had been given more time to get their financial houses in order. The WLGA will discuss its report with assembly members on the assembly finance committee on Thursday. Before that, Local Government Minister Lesley Griffiths will reveal on Wednesday each local authority's individual budget. Go bust Finance Minister Jane Hutt has said the Welsh government was "supporting and cushioning" local government over the last three years in anticipation of the cuts. Meanwhile, the Welsh Conservatives have criticised Cardiff council for recruiting five assistant directors with salaries of £80,000 a year days after a senior cabinet member gave a warning about the state of its finances. Last week senior Cardiff councillor Russell Goodway, cabinet member for finance, said the authority would struggle to cope with cuts. He said the council was finding it hard to absorb £20m in cuts this year, let alone another £50m in 2014-15. He also warned that two councils in Wales could go bust as a result of the cuts next year. A spokesman for Cardiff council said the latest recruitment campaign was part of a restructuring exercise of senior management which was announced by the local authority last year.