Frome Town Council agree not to raise its Council Tax Demand:

At the full Frome Town Council (FTC) meeting on 7^th January, FTC proposed to set its annual budget and work programme for 2015-16, which is full and ambitious for Frome, with lots of positive support for the community. The initial recommendation from officers was to increase the precept (the money FTC takes from the Council Tax) to £1,065,182: an increase of nearly 3%, which alone would increase Council Tax in Frome by just 0.24%.

However, I wondered whether any increase was really needed at all as many residents are struggling with low wages and pay freezes, and I thought that a further increase could damage the reputation of the Council with residents. I examined the work programme and budget to see if FTC could do what it needs and wants to do without asking for more money from residents. I proposed to FTC officers and councillors in the ruling party (IFF) that savings could be made to keep Frome’s portion of the Council Tax the same as last year without affecting the work it does for the community. I was pleased that they agreed to look at the budgets again, as they actually found some savings (underspends) as a result. At the meeting, I was pleased that councillors voted unanimously to approve a revised budget (which was presented at the meeting) with a reduced precept demand of £1,034,685, which is the amount that I had suggested. There will therefore be no increase in Council Tax from Frome Town Council this year. For the original report papers see here at item 9 – http://www.frometowncouncil.gov.uk/meeting/full-council-3/

Also at the meeting, Frome Town Council agreed to contribute £35,000 towards the community project to acquire fields at Whatcombe to save them as an open space for the community, and to give a £22,000 loan to the Cheese & Grain for new lighting. As there was a risk that the Council would dip into its General Reserves below the recommended £180,000 level, putting the financial reputation of the Council at risk, I had asked FTC officers to confirm the exact underspend on current budgets and proposed that the Council did not agree to these commitments if there was such a risk. FTC officers and leading councillors examined the figures again and found that there were sufficient underspends in current budgets to avoid any risk of going below the recommended level of reserves. At the meeting, councillors agreed to fund these two projects, by majority.