Glasgow should introduce a congestion charge where motorists pay to come into the city, according to the councillor in charge of the budget.

City Treasurer Richard Bell is dealing with a budget shortfall next year of £120m.

The £500m cash for local government, announced in the Scottish Budget by acting Finance Secretary John Swinney, should help bring that down but will likely still leave the biggest deficit ever faced.

READ MORE:John Swinney raises tax for higher earners in Scotland in budget

In the long term, Bell wants the council to have powers to raise extra income of its own through other taxes.

Council tax only accounts for 12% of the city budget and the rest is dependent on what it gets from Holyrood.

One of the powers Bell wants is a charge on vehicles coming into Glasgow.

Glasgow Times:

He said: “I would like us to look at a congestion charge.

“Glasgow has strange boundaries where people live just outside but travel in for work and other purposes but don’t contribute to paying for the upkeep of the city.

“I Think Glaswegians would welcome that. We have services being used by people from more affluent areas of the city region.”

READ MORE: Glasgow needs more money from John Swinney or jobs will be lost

London has a congestion charge of £15 a day during the hours it is in operation.

Edinburgh had a vote among residents in 2005 where a congestion charge was rejected.

The Treasurer said long-term cash-raising solutions are needed otherwise the council could have to look at withdrawing from some services altogether.

A tourism tax is another idea that could bring in cash that Glasgow’s council leadership has asked the government for.

He said: “We’ve been asking, in a joint letter with Susan Aitken, for other ways to raise revenue.

“A tourism tax is an obvious ask to put a charge on overnight stays like cities in other countries do.

“We don’t have the legislative competence to do that.”

He said conversations are taking place about raising funds but that they are long-term solutions.

He added: “It would transform how we deliver services. If we had a constant guaranteed revenue stream we could plan for services.”

Bell said the Scottish Government has said yes to a tourism tax but not until 2027.

The council tax is another that could be reformed to bring in more money.

He added: “We have to talk about changes to the council tax. It is unfair and regressive.

“The Scottish Government might allow councils to make changes to the top bands but Glasgow doesn’t have enough top band payers to make a difference.

“That might help East Renfrewshire or East Dunbartonshire but not here.”

Instead, he wants a range of money-raising powers to be made available that the council could pick from.

He said: “We want a general power to choose the tax-raising power that would most suit Glasgow.”