SELLING a town’s art collection or cutting councillor allowances and expenses were ideas put forward to help Middlesbrough slice £14m from its budget next year.

A six-week consultation outlining 45 ways the local authority could save millions attracted 14 responses from the public and five from councillors.

Apart from reimbursing £65,000 to drivers caught on camera using a bus Lane on Newport Road without prior warning, mayor Ray Mallon said all the original suggestions he put forward to the council on October 22 would now stand.

Among the raft of savings are plans to reduce the amount spent using barrister chambers for advice on child safeguarding casework and introduce alternative legal arrangements to save £160,000.

It also intends to transfer the maintenance of Stewart Park to Askham Bryan College to save £180,000, which will also result in the college investing in the park and creating an equestrian parade ring.

To cut £36,000 it will remove council subsidies for several bus services and cut in half the amount spent on books in libraries to save £100,000.

Addressing the full council at Middlesbrough Town Hall, Councillor Nicky Walker asked whether residents’ paperbacks could help boost the shelves of the town’s libraries.

“Could members of the public not donate books that are in decent condition to their local libraries? That way we could keep up the stock of good books without paying for them," she said.

Mr Mallon explained to the full council at Middlesbrough Town Hall that it had to make savings of up to £77m until 2019/2020 to pay for the escalating costs to look after children and elderly adults which will swallow up 73 per cent of its future budgets.

“Some financial commentators have suggested that public sector organisations, such as councils, may have to make further cuts of up to 40 per cent.

“Considering we have cut £60.5m from our council budget since April 2011 and the Working Neighbourhoods Fund of £8.9m was cut at the stroke of a pen, it is little wonder we are seeing a real impact on the town in so far as services and job losses are concerned,” said Mr Mallon.

“I will say again, as I have said previously, I am convinced personal tax rises will also occur. Whichever way I look at it, I truly believe that the man or woman on the street will be squeezed financially for a number of years to come.”

The final 2015/16 budget will be placed before the full council at its February meeting.