Settle Town Council is required to set a budget for each financial year, and it is this budget that determines the local council element of your Council Tax Bill. The amount varies by the Council Tax Band of your home. The Council has set a precept for 2024/25 of £142,120 which works out at an extra £9.45 a year from a Council Tax payer in a Band D property.
The Council believes that this is justified by inflation and the commitment to repairs and maintenance.
In setting the 2024/25 budget, Councillors with the Town Clerk/Responsible Financial Officer have done a full review of our income, costs, and commitments. We have looked at the realities of our main activities – markets, allotments, play areas and open spaces, street lighting, cemetery etc. We have also looked at planning for future costs and have provided for investment in community facilities in a more focused way.
The council, like every person reading this, is faced with increasing costs, but we have worked hard to control them and to be realistic about our obligations to you.
The budget has been calculated following a full review of costs and income. We believe that the increase is prudent, appropriate, and justified. We have had a realistic look at costs. We have built in where we know of changes, we have provided for what we can anticipate and we have made estimates where there is uncertainty. The main difference is that we have increased the amount allocated to repairs and maintenance of community facilities. Should this expenditure not be undertaken in 2024/25 any balances will be taken forward to 2025/26 as earmarked reserves explicitly for those purposes.
Councillors believe that this will provide for a more planned approach to the facilities and services enjoyed by our parishioners.
There are still significant cost pressures and the Clerk/Responsible Financial Officer and Council are committed to managing costs and maximising income.
The full budget will be published on our website at https://settletowncouncil.gov.uk/ and will be available on request from the Clerk at: clerk@settletowncouncil.gov.uk or ring the office on 01729 823617.
