Dear Parishioners

Dunkerton & Tunley Parish Council Funding Information

The parish council’s work is funded by the precept which you pay as part of your Council Tax.  Each parish council sets its own level of precept to fund its work and staff as part of the annual budget setting, but the billing of it is undertaken by BANES Council.

The activities funded include:

• The employment of our experienced clerk and responsible financial officer
• Training for councillors and staff
• Maintenance of the various parish assets such as phone boxes, green spaces including land owned by the parish, bus shelters, street lighting
• Meeting room hire costs for parish council meetings
• Maintenance of the parish website (by law the parish council has to be able to display information such as agendas, meetings and financial information on a website)
• Insurance

Over the years when setting its budget the parish council has done its utmost to keep the level of increase in the precept as low as possible.  However over the last few years each annual budget has been set resulting in a year end deficit as the parish council’s expenditure each year has exceeded its income.  Obviously this cannot go on as we cannot keep eating into our reserves which by legislation have to be maintained at a minimum equivalent to three month’s expenditure. 

Therefore this year the parish council has increased the precept more than usual with a £10.60 increase per annum (based on a Band D household).  For an individual household (based on Band D) this equates to just over 20 p a week.  Based on research on the level of precepts in other similar size parishes within Bath and North East Somerset the level of precept still remains lower than many, and is well below the national average. Your parish council, in keeping with most other parish councils has only the one source of income, the precept. We are investigating other possible sources of income by diversifying the use of parish council owned land. One example is the cricket ground in Dunkerton where, thanks to the cooperation of the cricket club, we have been able to eliminate all the costs to the parish council of maintaining this.

Thank you for your continued support, your councillors will endeavour to continue maintaining the parish for as low a cost to you as possible.

Regards

Your Dunkerton & Tunley Parish Council Chairman

David Orme