The Houghton Regis Town Meeting (15 April) - “Why is our precept higher than many others?”
This was one of the important questions raised by a resident at Houghton’s Town meeting and addressed by the Town Mayor.
Our tax base did not grow as quickly as many had assumed because fewer houses were built. Staff salaries increased and of course inflation. However, what wasn’t explained was a much more worrying question.
”Why was the increase SO LOW - considering the budget that was set by the council?”
A quick look at the budget reveals that the Town Council used their reserves to prevent an even bigger increase in the precept. This is a practice frowned upon by accountants for the obvious reason you can’t keep doing that every year because the reserves run out.
Here is the problem. It was the salary increases that were the most important reason the budget was so big and they were the result of a work-force review. The implications of those changes will remain with us for next year. Incremental increases to salaries will once again prove to be challenging. Furthermore, there is no guarantee all the new houses will be delivered at the rate anticipated once again leaving the Town Council short of money.
The Labour Team advocated a one-off use of reserves out of concern for the cost of living crisis. And to be honest, nobody expected the budget would need to be so high. However, it would be wrong to use reserves again and wrong to have another big rise in the precept.
The Town Council must control its spending.
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