Council approves Budget and sets its Precept for 2015/16
At its Full Council meeting on 16 December 2014, Horley Town Council approved a Precept (Council Tax) requirement of £302,802 for the year 2015/2016. This translates to an unchanged level of tax (0% increase). Band D households will continue to pay £34.62 per annum.
The Town Council’s roles include the maintenance of the Memorial Gardens and Horley Recreation Ground, as well as eight more open spaces around Horley. It is also responsible for the management of five children’s playgrounds, manages and maintains the football pitches and Innes Pavilion at Court Lodge Fields and provides allotments.
Horley Town Council has reached an agreement whereby Reigate & Banstead Borough Council will pay an index linked £35,000 per annum over the next ten years to defray expenditure arising from double taxation.
Following the last pension valuation, with changed criteria, and allowance for longer life expectancy, the Council Pension Deficit stood at £93,000. This year’s unbudgeted £35,000 grant has now been received and has been used to reduce this deficit. The Double Taxation grant for the coming year will be “earmarked” and could be utilised over the next few years to mitigate potential increases in the Precept.
It needs to be recognized that your Town Council is threatened with a reduction in its Council Tax Support Grant (introduced to compensate for the loss of income we suffered when the method for calculating Council Tax was changed) from the Borough Council. Your Council has fought off a reduction this year. The issue is simple: The government currently says that the money is included within the Borough Funding. The way the rules are drafted means that the Borough has no legal obligation to pass it on.
Next year, with the benefit of increased income arising from new houses, the help given by the Gatwick Airport Community Trust towards the re-roofing of the Innes Pavilion and tight budget management, the Council intends to pay off one existing loan and arrange the demolition of the Michael Crescent Squash Court/Scout building, as it has reached the end of its useful life.
Residents will again have appreciated the very high standard of town and park maintenance, capped by two Silver Gilt awards in the South and South East in Bloom competition, achieved with minimal resources compared to many other towns.
This Council will continue to seek funding from appropriate bodies. We received funding earlier this year from the Surrey Legacy Fund, which enabled us to install new playground equipment and we have heard today (16 December) that our bid for outdoor fitness equipment from London Marathon Charitable Trust was also successful. Other funding has been offered from our local Borough and County Councillors’ Initiative Schemes and this will be followed up.
A summary of the precept is available here or, for more detailed information, please go to "documents/strategic documents and policies" on this website.
