Brighton and Hove councillors will be told next week their authority will have overspent by more than £3 million next spring unless action is taken.
If the deficit cannot be reduced, it will have a serious impact on Brighton and Hove City council's balances and its strategy to deal with severe financial problems in the current year.
Chief finance officer Chris Taylor reveals the problem in a report to go before the policy committee on Wednesday.
Almost £1 million of the total is on adult social care and is mainly accounted for by care home fees.
The council is trying to keep people out of homes, which are expensive, and expand care for them in their own houses and flats.
There is a current overspend of £310,000 on the homeless budget and £274,000 on transport.
Another £1.2 million overspend is forecast on the children's department following the new foster care payment scheme.
There are also continuing problems with street cleaning and bin emptying with hoped-for savings not being made.
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