Ashington Town Council Sets Responsible Precept Demand for 2024/2025, Ensuring Financial Stability and Minimal Resident Impact

31 January 2024

Ashington Town Council met last night to agree the budget for 2024/25 and the subsequent precept demand to Northumberland County Council.

The precept is the amount of money collected from the taxpayers of Ashington via their Council Tax.

Leader of Ashington Town Council, Cllr John Tully, presented a draft budget which is shown in the charts at the end. The Council agreed an operating budget of £946,888. Alongside this, a separate General Reserves and Contingency pot of £175k, and Ear-Marked Reserves towards the longer-term replacement of assets equalling £65k.

Symptomatic of the current financial climate, whilst many areas of spending have been maintained or reduced, including the overall budget, the precept requirement has increased. This is a combination of inflation and cost of living increases across Management and Support, the Council’s new CCTV contract, and previous reserves being used for major capital projects in this and the previous financial year.

Ashington Town Council has set a precept demand of £899,950 for the 2024/25 financial year. This balances using available reserves to meet current needs while still saving for the future and planning for contingencies. The precept demand represents the lowest possible increase for residents. Based on information from Northumberland County Council, this results in an annual charge of £75.04 for Band A properties and £112.57 for Band D properties, an increase of £3.75 and £5.63, respectively.

An Annual Report which will include a full financial summary will be available in May 2024, following the end of the financial year in March 2024.

In presenting the budget proposal for 2024/25, Cllr John Tully addressed the meeting as follows.

“Members of the Council, and more importantly the people of Ashington, I wish to present the budget for Ashington Town Council, a budget that reflects our commitment to responsible financial management, and the wellbeing of our community.”

“As we delve into the details, it will become evident that our financial decisions are shaped by the contracts and commitments we currently have in place, strengthening the Councils priorities of:

1. Keeping the town’s streets and estates clean and clear of litter.
2. Improving the environment by providing a pleasant, and safe place to live.
3. Supporting the community via events, engagement, and grant funding.
4. Taking urgent action to fight the effects of climate change.

“A substantial portion of the Councils budget, approximately £708k is non-discretionary spending, basically we have no choice, these are commitments and contracts.”

“I will now move to where we have a choice. This year, proving our commitment to providing a SAFE and secure town, the Council has made a substantial investment in enhanced CCTV coverage, particularly on Station Road. This aligns with our unwavering commitment to the safety and security of the people of Ashington.”

“Despite facing severe constraints on budget flexibility, we have made strategic commitments to Publicity and Communications, Training, Bus Shelters, and Litter Bins.”

“We, as a responsible and caring Council, recognise the need for prudent financial management. To this end we have reduced the budget for Capital Allotment schemes. This was not an easy decision, but we have over the last 4 years invested substantial amounts in allotments, £250k over 4 years with £187k of that over the past 2 years. We now feel it is time to exercise caution and slow down this spending. Capital schemes have been prioritised and in 2024/25 Seaton Hirst Allotment water system of just over £16,000 will be the only capital scheme taken forward.”

“Speaking of difficult decisions. The Council values the services provided by Northumberland County Council, and we are committed to the partnership we have with them to provide frontline services. However, we must reassess our commitment to subsiding these services at the level we have reached. Therefore, the budget presented maintains the financial commitment to the Partnership Agreement at the 2023/24 level of £236,700, not increasing it as requested. The proposed budget also relieves the Council of its subsidy towards the maintenance of Hirst Park. We realise that Hirst Park is an asset to the town, but as a strategic asset of NCC, we will encourage NCC Leaders to increase their own investment in its maintenance.”

“In response to the financial pressures faced by all Councils, we have adjusted the allocation of funds to Climate Change, Events, and Community Grants. Our commitment to these priorities remains steadfast and significant, and we will use the expertise of staff to deliver high value, lower cost projects in these areas.”

“We recognise the great importance of financial resilience and have accepted advice to replace funds spent from the contingency budget in the current financial year, and to maintain our general reserves and contingency at £175k. As part of our longer-term strategy, we will replace aging assets but at a more affordable rate. Ear-marked reserves for this purpose have not been increased in this budget and we will seek external funding wherever possible.”

“This budget represents a £5.63 per annum increase for Band D householders, and £3.75 per annum for Band A. This is a balanced, and responsible budget, delivered in very difficult, and challenging times. It paves the way for community wellbeing.”

Cllr Tully proposed the budget as presented, the motion was seconded and agreed.