Parish Council – Chairman’s Report Winter/Spring 2019
Councils at all levels are currently setting their annual budget which then dictates what they are able to achieve within the next financial year, and the Parish Council is no exception. The Parish Council budget is referred to as Precept and it is received via the District Council, from the Council Tax collected from those within the Parish; any annual increase is normally kept to approximately 2.5%.
However, this year the Parish Council has needed to set an increase of 9.9%, which equates to an annual increase of £5.19 in Band D Council Tax. I’m sure that has induced gasps of horror, but it was not a decision taken lightly and it was taken to ensure that the Parish Council could correctly respond to the policies imposed upon it. The increased budget reflects costs relating to the development of the Parish Council’s tree management strategy (including provision for professional tree surveys and tree maintenance work), and expenditure to assist in managing the impact of large-scale developments which will affect the Parish and its residents (e.g. Worcestershire Parkway Station and SWUE).
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