An extra £18 million could be slashed from Wolverhampton City Council’s budget in the next two years, leaving community services and jobs at risk, it emerged today. Senior officers discussed the move.

The proposed cuts put on the agenda for the council’s Corporate Management Team, come just months after plans were unveiled to cut £40m from the budget by 2011 and axe around 200 posts.

The huge savings programme, which includes the closure of Underhill House care home in Fallings Park and Sweetman Street bungalows for disabled people, started in April.

The action plan was put in place in a bid to keep council tax rises at their lowest level for 15 years and plug holes in finances.

Bosses say they want to prepare the authority for the next few years, when the annual Revenue Support Grant (RSG) funding from the Government is expected to fall due to the recession.

But Councillor Andrew Johnson, Labour spokesman for finance, said it had now emerged officers have discussed further possible cuts of between £9-£18m.

He said extra cuts would be “catastrophic”. But Coun- cillor Wendy Thompson, Wolverhampton City Council’s cabinet member with responsibility for finance, said: “This refers to options being discussed by officers at a very early stage.”