Council chiefs will meet this afternoon to discuss the package, but they are thought to be unwilling to accept it.
Mainly Wirral residents use the tunnels, and there is a feeling that they should not have to contribute financially to the tram when no line will cross the Mersey.
Liverpool and Knowsley councils do not know yet whether they will definitely receive the government cash, which should be used to pay for cheap public transport for the over-60s.
Concessionary fares for pensioners are already provided in Merseyside, meaning the money is potentially going spare.
Political Reporter Nick Coligan says...
JUST as it looked like the tram was finally doomed, somehow Merseytravel has carved itself more time to save the day.
This is not the first time that a final deadline has been threatened and then withdrawn.
We thought the government had to accept the line one deal in June for the network to be built. Then Merseytravel chairman Mark Dowd told council chiefs they had until August 5 to accept the new deal.
Finally, we were led to believe that today was the "drop-dead" date, by which time tram cars had to be ordered from their manufacturers.
Ask the man in the street what he wants to know about the tram and you get one answer - is it going to be built?
At some point, someone has to decide if Merseytram will happen, and put us out of our misery.
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