Finances » Capel St Mary Parish Council

The Parish Plan Questionnaire results showed that the Parish Council should review how effectively it communicates with residents. Some six out of ten (61%) respondents are unaware of how the Parish Council proportion of their Council Tax is spent and a similar proportion (60%) say they don't know enough to say they are satisfied with how the money is spent. However, nine out of ten of those who are aware are satisfied with how the money is spent.

Parish Councils have powers and duties such as to provide allotments, to contribute towards the cost of cemeteries, to provide and equip community buildings for offices and public meetings, and to provide a wide range of recreational facilities. Other functions range from the provision of bus shelters to public baths.

The preparation of the annual budget is one of the key tasks to be undertaken in any local council irrespective of its size. The budget is the foremost control mechanism in a council's financial affairs and its importance should not be underestimated. Most importantly it is a vital tool for managing the potential risks to public money. The budget is mainly funded through the precept which is a demand that the district council collects from the parish electorate on the parish council's behalf. The district council will advise the clerk each year of the number of properties in our area and the formal council tax base. From these figures the annual charge for an average band D household can be calculated.

The Parish Council also hold funds which are reviewed annually. These funds are a mechanism to spread costs over a number of different precept years. The current funds are for Village Hall maintenance, allotments equipment, elections, maintenance of the playing field and play areas, floral displays, office equipment, maintenance of litter and dog bins, and street names. New funds can be created each year where a future cost that should be provisioned over some years is identified.

General Expenses are required to maintain the Parish Council office and equipment, play area inspections, grass cutting of the village greens and a contribution to the church grass cutting, bus shelter cleaning and repairs, power and maintenance for lights provided by the Parish Council, litter and dog bin collections and litter picker salary.

Reserves have to be maintained at a minimum of 25% of General Expenses and at present, in view of the fact that our precept is on the whole not increasing we are maintaining reserves of around £25,000.

Finances and how we use the money are discussed at PC Meetings each month and we are always pleased to see members of the public at our meetings.