SETTING OF PRECEPT FOR 2025/26
Parish council precepts – This is the amount of any precepts from parish councils issued to the billing authority and taken into account when calculating the authority’s council tax requirement. Council Tax Requirement is the amount of money the councils need to raise from council tax to fund council spending once government funding and other council income is deducted.
The Personnel, Finance and Governance Committee considered the budget for next year at the meeting on the 11th November 2024. A precept of £822,558 was recommended for 2025/26. This is a 3% increase on last year’s precept. The current year’s council tax Band D annual charge is £105.03 and this increase will see a rise of 2.39% on the Band D charge to £107.57 next year. This would be a weekly increase of approximately 5p.
The Council has again had to set a realistic budget for the coming financial year and taken into account increases with regard to energy, general operating costs and increased price rises. The Council has tried to keep the increase on the precept to the minimum that is necessary to keep the Council’s services and facilities operating under these current financial rises. It wishes to make the financial impact on parishioners as small as possible as it appreciates how all the economic increases are impacting on everyone.
The draft budget put before the meeting was devised based on the following:
• Maintaining the current quality of our services.
• Continued provision of the Tourist Information Service, Oliver Cromwell’s House and community events within Ely.
• Continued provision of the Maltings for both private and community use.
• Climate change initiatives.
• Funds available for community grants.
• Ring-fenced reserves.
• An appropriate level of general reserves.
With the 3% increase, there will still be a shortfall of £143,668 which will be met from the Council’s unallocated reserves.
The precept of £822,558 for 2025/26 was formally approved at the Full Council meeting on the 2nd December 2024.
Tracey Coulson Cllr Chris Phillips
Clerk to the Council Chairman of the Council
28th February 2025
