Parish Council News
PRECEPT FOR 2008/2009
At the Parish Council meeting held on 5th December the budgetary requirements for the financial year 2008/2009 were discussed, and a draft budget was agreed.
In recent years the precept – the amount Northchapel raises directly and collected through the Council tax – has been set on a care and maintenance basis, which means that your Council has been unable to take any initiatives or undertake any capital spending. There are no reserves available to meet unexpected contingencies, and little if any funding for village groups.
The Parish Council has a minimum duty to build and maintain a prudent reserve to enable it to react quickly to any unforeseen events. It has a duty to ensure the infrastructure of the village is maintained, and to care for the facilities which are enjoyed by the community.
However, your Parish Council believes its duty is greater than that. We have the responsibility to ensure that Northchapel retains its unique character and is a place were the current community enjoys appropriate housing, and that development is suitable to provide affordable housing for this and future generations.
The Council also believes we should ensure that the focal points of community life, the Church, the Village Hall and the Green are a source of genuine pride to the community and that existing work in and around the village should continue and, in due course, be extended.
Particular projects for next year include:
Measures to control the speed of traffic flowing through the centre of the village on the A283 and also down past the school on Pipers Lane.
A grant towards the village hall redevelopment fund, to enable this project to make progress.
A Village Plan is nearly ready for publication. This will be of assistance to us in our approaches to other government bodies for grants and our contribution to the Local Development Framework to ensure Northchapel is developed in the way we want, and for the benefit of the community as a whole.
We wish to start building a general reserve to comply with local government guidelines.
In addition we wish to be in a position to assist the school in maintaining and improving on the outstanding standard it has already achieved.
All these plans require funding, which is why the Council has drawn up a budget for the next financial year which will require an increase in the precept of a little over 100% - from £15,000 this year to £34,000 in 2008/9.
Some examples of our proposed increased expenditure are:
£3,500 to a reserve fund for traffic calming measures; a grant to the Village Hall of £40,000 which will cost approximately £2,800 per annum over 25 years; the Village plan will cost around £3,000 to produce and a sum of £4,000 into reserves.
Although we recognise that this percentage increase is large, the actual cost to electors is not as great as might be imagined. For instance, to fund the grant to the Village Hall fund will cost each elector approximately £4.70 per year.
The next Parish Council meeting, at which the budget will be approved formally, will be on Wednesday, 16th January 2008, at 8pm.
The first 10 mins of the meeting is set aside to hear comments and concerns of the public over matters which are on the agenda.
In a proposal of this magnitude your Council wishes to be sure the community supports its proposals.
If you have any questions, concerns or suggestions please contact me or any member of the Parish Council.
Please do attend the meeting on 16th January. It is important to you. Your Council is working for you.
John Morgan
Chairman, Northchapel Parish Council
If you require any further details please contact John Morgan.
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