Town council to increase tax bill in Yeovil - by 6p a week!

COUNCILLORS are expected to go-ahead tonight (Tuesday) with a move to put up the council tax for people in Yeovil – by just 6p per average Band D household per week.

Central Government has made a number of changes to the way it makes council tax benefits and this has had an impact on how local authorities plan for their budgets including Yeovil Town Council.

Members of the town council’s policy, resources and finance committee will hear tonight that the old system of benefits has been replaced with a local council tax scheme operated by South Somerset District Council as they are the “billing authority.”

But town clerk Alan Tawse said: “The consequence of these new arrangements is that the tax base of the town council has been reduced by 14.6 per cent which means that our income from the current share of the council tax precept is reduced by £132,445.”

The town council has set a draft budget for £921,427 – which equates to a 1.5 per cent on the 2012-13 budget. But the changes at Central Government has left the council facing a shortfall of £12,480.

Councillors will be told tonight that the shortfall can be met by fixing an increased annual charge per Band D property from £90.63 to £93.71 – an increase of 3.4 per cent.

Mr Tawse has said in a report that that increase would represent a rise of £3.08 per year – which equates to 6p per week.

The town clerk said the increase would be a ‘sustainable solution’ to solving the shortfall.

It is expected that the full town council will officially set the town’s precept for 2013-14 at its meeting on February 5.

The Yeovil Town Council precept makes up just one fifth of the overall council tax bill. The majority of the bill goes to Somerset County Council with Avon and Somerset Police, Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service, South Somerset District Council and the town/parish councils getting their slice of the annual financial cake.

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