Parish Council agrees the Parish Precept for April 2018
At the Parish Council meeting on the 16th of January 2018, Members of the Parish Council voted to apply a slight increase to the Parish Council precept to continue to improve services within the Parish.
• Administration costs have increased, but with a growing population and the Parish Council taking on more services, this is not unexpected.
• The Council has given more money, in a more flexible budget line, to deliver the grass cutting, footpath clearance, weedkilling etc within the Parish. The Council is disappointed with how the previous contractor carried out this task and so the Council is looking to appoint a local contractor who can be more flexible in their approach to the areas that need managing.
• The Council has doubled its repairs & maintenance budget line as growing number of items / matters are coming to the Councils attention that need to be done.
• The Council has transformed its grants funding to offer more support to local organisations, the Council has increased the overall amount of money available.
• The Council has maintained money for donations to charities that benefit the Parish.
• The Parish Council has budgeted for a new grit bin for Rudge and will be adding £3,500 to its growing pot for Bettering Beckington projects. Residents may recall a Parish wide survey 18 months ago that identified projects that parishioners would most like to see and the Council have been using that survey to prioritise spending within the Parish.
To pay for the above the Council agreed to apply an increase in the Council tax of £2.71 per year per band D household. This works outs at 5p per week.
In setting its budget the Council did not work with percentages. A large authority like the County Council will work with percentages, increasing the precept by as much as they can and then making cuts to services make the budget fit.
A small Parish Council works on a zero-budget system, building up a list of services and then working out what the precept will have to be to deliver the services.
At an extra cost of £2.71 per year the Council felt that this was a modest increase.
Looking to the future, with the growing number of homes being built in the Village, the overall cost will be spread between more houses. So, the Council does not foresee any need for any significant increase over the next few years.
