Finance Secretary Derek Mackay has denied the Scottish Government is being "disrespectful" to councils by asking them to agree to funding settlements before its own budget is finalised in parliament.
Mr Mackay admitted councils face "pressures" amid accusations of Scottish Government funding cuts of up to £327 million but said it is up to each local authority to set its own budget and stressed they were getting a "fair" settlement.
Read more: Glasgow to raise Council Tax for first time in 12 years
Labour's Neil Bibby said writing to councils asking them to agree to the local budget settlement before it is passed by parliament "seems disrespectful to those local authorities and seems a bit odd given that the government doesn't have a majority in the parliament".
He asked Mr Mackay, who was giving evidence at Holyrood's Finance and Constitution Committee, if he would withdraw the written demand to councils to agree by January 20 or risk a "revised and inevitably less favourable offer".
Mr Mackay said he is following a "well-established timescale" for the process and he had "very positive negotiations with local government" with no council rejecting the deal.
Read more: Glasgow to raise Council Tax for first time in 12 years
Several councils, mainly Labour-led, have said they plan to ignore the deadline.
He added: "It would be a strange kind of negotiation to say 'here's our partnership proposal and if you don't agree with this I'll give something better'."
The amount of funding for councils also came under renewed scrutiny, with Labour citing figures from independent Scottish parliamentary researchers of a £327 million drop between the 2016/17 actual budget and the 2017/18 draft budget.
Scottish Government official Graham Owenson told the committee £327 million does not compare like for like and "misleading".
Mr Mackay said the budget delivers a £240 million increase in funding for local government services, when council tax changes and health and social care partnership funding is added.
Read more: Glasgow to raise Council Tax for first time in 12 years
Green MSP Patrick Harvie said: "The comparison between draft budgets still shows a £166 million reduction. You don't accept that any cuts are involved here at all?"
Mr Mackay replied: "I accept there are pressures within local authorities and clearly they'll have to deal with them."
Conservative MSP Murdo Fraser said people across Scotland are facing tax increases and cuts to services, with cuts being considering in his constituency including reducing care home beds, cutting teachers and increasing the cost of school dinners.
Read more: Glasgow to raise Council Tax for first time in 12 years
He said even if local authorities increase council tax to the maximum, "they will still be looking at cuts in frontline services".
Mr Mackay said: "It's for each local authority to explain to their electorate the decisions they take around council tax and also spending."
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