A budget black hole of almost £8 million was today being predicted by council chiefs in Wolverhampton next year – even after £3.9m is trimmed off public spending.

At least 10 jobs at Wolverhampton City Council will go in the first round of cuts, made up of six in property services and four in finance.

The council is expecting to lose the best part of £12m next year and is reviewing every detail of spending to make savings, including preparing to stop accepting cheques as a form of payment to save £25,000-a-year.

Finance chiefs have started to draw up plans to cut £3.9m even before the government’s comprehensive spending review is revealed on October 20.

But they say that will still leave them £7.9m short in 2011/12 if council spending continues as it has and the government slashes budgets by 25 per cent.

Advertising and publicity budgets will be reduced by £26,000-a-year.

The council predicts it will need to save £70m by 2016 on top of £27m of cuts already made over the past two years.

The revenue budget next year is expected to be cut from £267.4m to £259.5m, even after £3.9m is taken out.

The controversial changes already implemented have seen the city’s tips close two days a week, the price of hot food for the elderly and disabled nearly doubled.

Today council chief finance officer Pat Main said the first £3.9m of cuts would “not impact significantly on services or jobs” and would include cutting the cost of computer systems and software contracts, cuts in advertising and publicity budgets, a review of accommodation costs and cuts in agency staff budgets.

She said: “These proposals will not plug the council’s anticipated shortfall over the next five years, currently estimated to be £66.3m, so further savings proposals will be considered by cabinet after the outcome of the spending review.

“Given the scale of the public spending cuts it is anticipated that some of these further proposals will have a significant impact on service delivery and jobs.”