May's warning comes on top of significant budget reductions that have already been made.
In a period of significant budget reductions, Twitter conversations involved a wide range of responses about the impact of the cuts and future of services.
"Local authorities, voluntary groups and contractors have done an excellent job of offsetting significant budget reductions by working inventively and collaboratively to find new solutions and this is disguising the depth of the crisis".
But some schools facing significant enrollment drops are poised to absorb significant budget reductions — though advocates say they are the schools most in need of resources if they want to attract more students.
The drop, the experts at the conference said, was probably caused by the 2012 restructuring of cooperative groups sponsored by the National Cancer Institute, placing gynecological, surgical and radiation therapy under the same umbrella, and also by significant budget reductions of the National Institutes of Health.
In a statement, the council said: "The prospect of further reductions in local government funding in addition to the cuts already made by government makes it crucial for the council to plan for significant budget reductions in future years.
"In order to address the significant budget reductions, Derby City Council will be challenging the services we provide, how we provide them, to what level they are provided or subsidised, and who should provide them in the future".
At the same time investment is being constrained due to significant financial budget reductions in many European countries.
They are even more ubiquitous this year, since an economic downturn and significant budget cuts led to a reduction in sanitation services and garbage collection.
Jonathan Dordick, vice president for research at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, said his university had not seen a "significant" hit yet because it had planned for a federal budget reduction.
