3rd draft budget reveals big changes

The latest draft Town Council budget for next year reveals a 11.5% increase in Council Tax could be coming down the line.

Town councillors on the Council's Resources Committee will next week discuss their 3rd draft budget, which incorporates changes since they met in November.

In November, the town council's draft precept request for 25/26 was £991,802 - already a 10.7% increase on the current year.

However papers reveal that the 3rd draft budget now shows an precept request of £1,012,202 - the first time the authority has ever requested over £1m.

This would equate to a 11.7% increase from the current Band D charge, from £198.98 to £225 per annum - a £26.02 per year rise.

In November, town councillors agreed to cut the £20,000 major refurbishment fund to £0 to reduce costs, however the Services Committee has requested an additional £30k for the proposed Woodland Way playpark.

Town councillors have also added an additional £13,400 to the budget for street cleaning, a new service they will be 'buying' from Powys County Council.

Another rise is an additional £5k to replace a leased vehicle with another leased vehicle.

Comparing the current year with the 3rd draft budget, the biggest areas of expenditure which have seen rises is Staffing (9.2% increase), Vehicles & Plant (43.9% increase), Play Areas (83.3% increase) and Tourism (54.2% increase).

This is subject to change as the town council moves through the budget setting process, with the final budget and precept being set on Tuesday 14th January 2025.

The other two elements of how Council Tax is formed - Powys County Council and Police & Crime Commissioner Dafydd Llywellyn have yet to release any draft budget documents for 25/26.

The below table shows the proposed draft budget per band, per annum.