So, two neighbouring councils, each with similar demographic make-ups, both run by Plaid Cymru. Both face the same inflationary pressures. Both struggle with their annual allotments from Cardiff Bay; both committed to Welsh language heritage and promotion; both with a high proportion of second homes.

But both dealing with their finances in a totally different manner.

Ceredigion County Council is sinking in a sea of red ink and carries more than three times the amount of debt than it has in its reserves. Gwynedd has a far healthier debt-to-reserve ratio - twice as good as Ceredigion - and actually managed to offload a small proportion of its debt.

According to data obtained by the BBC’s Shared Data Unit, Ceredigion owes £1,723.13 for every man, woman and child living in the county now. And over the past year, Ceredigion officials have added nearly £20 million to the staggering debt pile.

Alarmingly, the council has just £41 million in its reserves – leaving it with a dangerous reserve to debt ratio of just 32.6 per cent.

By comparison, while Ceredigion grew its debt pile by nearly 18.5 per cent over the fiscal year, neighbouring Gwynedd managed to trim its council debt by 2.27 per cent. Gwynedd reduced its debt from £203 million to £198.3 million during the financial year.

Ceredigion is one of four councils controlled by Plaid Cymru across Wales.

Anglesey managed to reduce its overall debt by 0.3 per cent, from £121.5 million to £121.1 million during the last financial year that concluded at the end of March. Carmarthenshire marginally increased its county debt by 1.4 per cent from £410.1 million to £415.8 million over the same period.

But Ceredigion’s Plaid Cymru councillors are somehow - the majority of taxpayers in the county are simply at a loss to explain why - under the control of Chief Executive Officer Eifion Evans.

In the world of Ceredigion council, everything is fine, it’s well run, the finances are in order, the reviews are glowing, the handsome executive pay awards well deserved,

The figures don’t lie. Those running the council? Well, actually ...