Abingdon Town Council - Budget 2010/11

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Budget 2010/11

ABINGDON TOWN COUNCIL BUDGET FOR 2010-11

The Council aims to establish and maintain high quality, cost effective services to meet the needs of residents, businesses and visitors in Abingdon and to promote the social, economic, environmental and cultural interests of the town for the benefit of the whole community. The Council provides services from the cradle to the grave – from play equipment to cemeteries. A summary of the 2010/11 budget and how it relates to the Council Tax is set out below:

Budget	Expenditure 2010/11 £	Income 2010/11 £	Net expenditure 2010/11 £	Net Expenditure 2009/10 £
County Hall Museum	167,795	46,270	121,525	120,229
Cemetery	108,055	42,390	65,665	65,022
Recreation & Open Spaces	233,679	17,785	215,894	214,789
Community & Tourism	82,933	16,650	66,283	60,279
Other Community inc. markets, Christmas lights and street furniture	80,939	37,213	43,726	42,900
Town centre & partnership	54,300	0	54,300	61,000
Democratic, Corporate, property and other Services	375,863	22,752	353,111	338,926
Grants (excl. swim pool, Albert Park)	46,150	0	46,150	52,400
Residents’ Parking Scheme	65,582	68,882	-3,300	-2,808
Total	1,215,296	251,942	963,354	952,737
Transfer to capital projects– County Hall/Museum access	117,000		117,000	117,000
Transfer to capital projects reserve – new cemetery	10,000		10,000	10,000
Sub-total	1,342,296	251,942	1,090,354	1,079,737
Pooled property and capital works budget	245,525		245,525	0
Total amount required from Council Tax (Precept)	1,587,821	251,942	1,335,879	1,079,737

What does the Town Council do?

The Town Council’s services are wide and varied and include the County Hall Museum, the cemeteries, recreation, open spaces, allotments, residents’ parking schemes (on behalf of Oxfordshire County Council), markets, visitor information centre, Christmas lights, Abingdon in Bloom, fairs, fisheries, street furniture, bus shelters, town twinning, archives, issuing various publications and organizing events. Some of these services are provided in partnership with other organizations. The Council also encourages and supports the work of many groups in the community. Last year 30 different groups were awarded grants.

The Council has an important role in representing the town’s interests, for example, in commenting on planning applications made in Abingdon last year. The Council has put the town’s views forward in relation to the County Council’s Integrated Transport Strategy for Abingdon; the District Council’s Local Plan, where the Council opposed proposed housing developments in the south-west of the town; and the review of Fire Service provision, where the Council opposed the changes proposed to reduce cover by full time firefighters.

County Hall and Museum Improvement and Access scheme update

In March 2010 the Council was successful in its application for a Heritage Lottery Fund grant towards the County Hall and Museum Improvement and Access scheme. The project allows for the first full refurbishment of the building since 1956, including the installation of a lift to the basement, for which planning permission and listed building consent has been obtained. Grants have been obtained from Oxfordshire County Council and the Vale of White Horse District Council. The Council has allocated £117,000 towards the project from its budgets for 2010/11, the same contribution as for 2009/10, so no extra money is being allocated from the Council Tax for this scheme next year. Further details on the scheme may be found from the relevant article on the home page.

The 2010/11 budget: increase on the Council’s core budget of less than 1%

The Council has carefully considered its budget for 2010/11. This was a difficult budget cycle. There have been many matters to consider in setting the budget. There are cost pressures on the Council and the recession has had a number of results, one being a significant reduction in investment interest. The investment interest budgeted for next year is £29,000 less than that received three years earlier, that on top of the loss of the government Best Value grant amounting to £30,000 which was also withdrawn to from all Town Councils three years ago. However, the Council was able to set its core budget at £1,090,354, representing an increase over last year of just under 1%.

Pressures on the Council’s overall budget: property improvements and growth items

In considering the budget the Council identified a number of large budgetary pressures which need to be met. These pressures are such that they cannot be met from within existing budgets and therefore the Council has created a pooled property and capital works reserve from which a number of schemes will be funded. For 2010/11 a total of £245,525 has been set aside for these works. The Council believes that it is vital to make sufficient budgetary provision for these schemes to go forward in order to maintain the town’s property and services.

The schemes are as follows:

War memorial is leaning and needs underpinning to ensure its safety and longevity. The area around it will be refurbished with new planting. This work will ensure the memorial in the Square remains a fitting tribute to our servicemen and women and those who gave their lives for this country: estimate £60,000 capital;

Possible transfer of Guildhall to Town Council: the Guildhall is an important facility at the heart of the town and houses the Town’s art works and civic treasures, owned by the Town Council. Civic halls are usually the responsibility of Town Councils and Abingdon Borough used to run the Guildhall until 1974. The Town Council is exploring with the District Council how to increase the benefits of the facility and more fully develop its services for the community with some new investment: potential cost up to £200,000 a year.

Planning for a new cemetery: Over the next ten years, the Council will need to plan for and provide land for a new cemetery. The Council needs to save towards the costs of a new cemetery: this will cost between £500,000 and £1,000,000;

The area of land outside County Hall (Market Place phase 2) requires repaving and refurbishing: this could cost the Council up to £50,000;

Cemetery properties: the Council needs to undertake work on its properties including essential maintenance work to its historic cemetery chapels. Work identified to the properties amounts to £115,000.

Where does the Council’s money come from?

Unlike other Councils the Town Council does not receive any money from the Government and does not receive any money from business rates. All of the Council’s income is raised locally. Income is obtained from charging for some services and receiving income in relation to items such as market rents, cemetery fees and Museum shop receipts. This income is deducted from the overall cost of running the Council’s services to leave the net expenditure on services for the year. The remaining sum is funded via the “precept,” the amount collected from Abingdon residents for Town Council services and which is charged to the Council Tax. As a result the extra money required for the major schemes outlined above has to be raised from the Council Tax. For 2010/11 the total will be £1,335,879 resulting in a council tax on a Band D house of £106.64 for the whole year towards Town Council services. This is a charge of just over 29 pence per day per household.

The Vale of White Horse District Council collects the council tax on behalf of Oxfordshire County Council, the Vale of White Horse District Council, Thames Valley Police and Abingdon Town Council.

The overall Council Tax for a Band D property in Abingdon for 2010/11 is as follows:

Authority	Amount of Council Tax	Percentage of Council Tax bill
Oxfordshire County Council	£1,161.71	76.3%
Thames Valley Police	£154.30	10.2%
Vale of White Horse District Council	£116.69	7.6%
Abingdon Town Council	£106.64	5.9%
Total	£1,539.34

Whilst the Council Tax shows an increase of 23% on the Town Council’s part of the Tax, as the Town Council’s overall tax is the lowest of all the authorities, the increase on the overall bill which relates to the Town Council is 1.3%. The Council considered its budget very carefully, being fully aware of the difficult economic circumstances affecting the country, but felt that the schemes outlined above are pressing and important for the town and that therefore the money to fund these was worth raising.

For more information please contact Mr Nigel Warner, Town Clerk at Abingdon Town Council, The Old Abbey House, Abbey Close, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 3JD. For telephone enquiries please call 01235 522642 or e-mail enquiries@abingdon.gov.uk.