Precept rises by 29% as council looks to ‘protect services that the community holds dear’

FROME Town Council has agreed to raise the town’s precept, the amount of council tax which households pay to Frome Town Council for the services they provide, by 29%. The decision was taken in light of Somerset Council looking to offload assets and services in response to its financial emergency. 

The 29% increase represents an increase of £1.21 a week on the current year for Band D properties.  The council says that around 76% of Frome households will pay less, as they are in Bands A to C.

Somerset Council is currently in conversation with town and parish councils across the county to see where “mutual benefit” might be achieved in devolving some services, open spaces and buildings, to be managed and maintained more locally.

Devolution fund

The town council says that Somerset Council has indicated that new funds will be needed to take on some of these land and assets, but councillors are yet unsure exactly how much money will be needed.

As a result, Frome Town Council has decided to raise the precept to create a devolution fund to potentially take on these new responsibilities “to protect services that the community holds dear”- such as keeping the public toilets open, as well as maintaining parks and open spaces. The decision to approve the 2024-25 work programme and budget, including the precept, was made at a meeting of the town council on Wednesday 17th January.

‘Too ambitious’

Following the meeting, Frome resident, Chris Wildridge, said that town councillors have become “too ambitious.” He said, “Frome Town Council has served the town well for many years. I feel that today’s councillors may have lost their sense of perspective, have become too ambitious. Most of them seem to think that a 29% council tax increase is justifiable, despite the fact that our economy is flat lining, food inflation is high and many are facing huge increases in mortgage and rent costs.”

Leader of the council, cllr Lisa Merryweather said, “Frome Town Council will continue to work with the community and partners to support our residents and offer the very best value for money for the people of Frome, taking over services from Somerset Council where appropriate.

“The precept increase will enable the town council to negotiate with Somerset Council, to protect services that the community holds dear. These include keeping the Market Yard toilets open, including the Changing Places loos, protecting the parks and open spaces, and protecting vital services that could otherwise be lost. We do this in the interest of health, wellbeing and accessibility for the people of Frome.

“In budget terms, the precept increase represents a 29% increase to the Frome Town Council element of council tax, which will be spent in Frome, supporting residents. This budget will represent an additional £1.07 or less per week for 70% of our residents who pay council tax and those who are not eligible to pay, will remain exempt.”

Cllr Fiona Barrows, who was the only councillor to vote against the increase, said at the meeting, “I want to make it clear that not all councillors feel the same way on this. I think it’s very easy for us to say that increase is only £1.21 a week, but Somerset Council and Somerset and Avon Police will also make increases this year, which will have a cumulative impact.

“There are so many people in Frome struggling right now and we’ve said that we would put £350,000 in a pot, but there is not a clear plan on how this money will be spent and the value we can give back to residents in exchange for that. I feel uncomfortable that we are taking money when we don’t really know what we are going to do with it.

“We haven’t engaged with residents on this and I know that timelines make things difficult, but this council doesn’t reach all of Frome. When I first started as a councillor, we agreed that we would do things with the town and not to the town, but this seems like we are doing something to the town which feels uncomfortable.”

Cllr Lisa Merryweather said in response, “You are correct that we haven’t gone out to the wider community, but we are in a challenging environment which doesn’t excuse this, but we are pressured to make decisions on our precept without being able to engage with the wider community.

“Nobody sitting in this room is 100% confident in the decisions we are having to make, it’s impossible. We are all concerned about our residents, but I am concerned that we need to cushion the blows that will have a massive impact on our residents. If that means we need to increase the precept to make sure that the effect of those cuts is not as extreme as it could be, I’m happy with that. Giving the uncertainty of what’s coming down the line, I stand by the decision.”

Rich Ackroyd, a former town councillor said, “It’s never easy to set a precept. Let’s think back; people said we were wasting our time trying to buy back the town hall and that it would never work, and (now) is a fantastic resource. The Cheese and Grain is going from strength to strength. By being creative, thinking ahead, you can actually do things. If you always do what you’ve always done, you always get what you’ve always got. If I were still on the council, I’d be voting for this.”

At the meeting, Lenka Grimes from local charity Fair Frome, which operates the town’s food bank, says that 40% of those that make use of their services are currently in work.

“I’m really concerned,” she said. “£1.07 a week may not sound like a lot, but it is a big increase for a lot of people. I realise for people on 100% relief for council tax, that will continue, but for 70% of households it matters. 40% of people who come to us are working, there’s a really fine line at the moment.”

A member of the public who attended the meeting, asked how the council could justify a precept increase in a cost-of-living crisis and the cumulative impact on residents. Cllr Nick Dove responded, saying “We haven’t asked to be in this position, we’ve arrived at this position. There’s something horrible coming down the line and I think it would be negligent of us if we didn’t plan, to have some kind of contingency funds, to deal with it.”

You can watch the meeting on YouTube at https://bit.ly/ftc-meeting-17th-jan-24

You can see the detail of the budget and the work programme at