Moray Council has dismissed claims it could be inviting future problems by leaving vacancies unfilled as part of its latest budget.
Amid a huge range of measures designed to tackle a £12million deficit over the coming year, council leaders decided to scrap 14 posts which had been lying vacant.
But Highlands and Islands MSPs Rhoda Grant and David Stewart have criticised council budgets across the north.
And they expressed concern that leaving the posts unfilled could have “a knock-on effect”.
Mr Stewart said when posts were lost, there were normally consequences for other jobs outwith the local authority.
He added: “Alarm bells are loudly ringing across the region, in one of the most difficult times for local authorities.”
Moray Council’s chief executive, Roddy Burns, stressed that the decision to axe certain positions had been taken to avoid redundancies, and said the posts lost were of “minimal” consequence.
Mr Burns said: “The deleted posts have been vacant for some time, so these are not redundancies and the impact on the wider community will be minimal.
“Many of the roles have been taken on by other members of the relevant teams or agencies.”
Moray Council agreed its budget during a stormy meeting in Elgin on Wednesday.
The authority’s SNP opposition group tabled an alternative plan which it said could offer greater savings than the one offered by the ruling administration.
But the administration questioned the validity of the Nationalists’ pledges, and its proposal was backed by 13 votes to 11.