Parish Precept Increase Explained

Published: 20 February 2023

Council tax bills will shortly be arriving through letterboxes, and although there are usually explanatory leaflets from West Sussex and Horsham Councils plus the Police & Crime Commissioner, Parish and Town Councils are denied such an opportunity.

Hence, we thought we would use this medium to explain why the amount you pay to Billingshurst Parish Council is going up in 2023 - 2024.

Parish Councillors thought long and hard about whether to increase the council tax and if so by how much, mindful that in a nutshell, everything is going up, wages are not keeping up, and no one knows what the near future might hold.

The Parish Council provides very local services such as open spaces, street cleaning, public toilets and the Billingshurst Centre to name but four. Whilst these might not be in the same league as education and social services, they are nonetheless important to the village to keep it a good place to live, work and visit.

Unlike district and county councils, parishes receive no funding from central government, relying solely on what residents pay. Thus, the increased cost of running things, made up of wages, materials and energy also has to fall on residents.

Councillors went through every budget line carefully, pruning where it was sensible to do so, in order that front line services that residents really appreciate were protected; one of these is the Neighbourhood Wardens which, although delivered by Horsham District Council, are entirely funded by the Parish Council which is funded by you.

In terms of facts and figures, for 2023-24 the Council has approved:
•      a budget of £607,723 which is an increase of £53,608 or 9.67%.

•      a total council tax take of £490,586

For an average Band D property this equates to:

•      £109.39 per year or £2.10 per week.

•      a rise of £7.62 per annum or 7.49%

•      15 pence extra per week.

To find out more about the things your precept helps to pay for, please visit http://www.billingshurst.gov.uk/Facilities_22609.aspx

Parish Council meetings are open to the public, for more information please visit http://www.billingshurst.gov.uk/Meetings_22613.aspx

Parish Council elections are due to be held in May 2023