Axminster Town Council 'reins in' spending amid cost of living crisis

Axminster Town Council has approved a "diligent and responsible" budget for the coming financial year, taking into account the cost of living crisis. 

The Mayor of Axminster, Cllr Jill Farrow, explained at last week's town council meeting that members had "reined ourselves in", as they felt it was unfair to spend a lot of money on non-essential projects when some residents were struggling to heat their homes. 

The mayor's allowance has also been scrapped for the first time, as Cllr Farrow felt in was inappropriate to claim this when residents were facing such difficulties. 

It was agreed to charge a precept – the portion of council tax received by Axminster Town Council – off £291,236.77, or £102.73 for the year for the average Band B property.

This equates to an increase of £28,075.72, or £9.34 for the year for the average Band D property, or 2.5 pence extra per day.

Town clerk Paul Hayward pointed out that the precept in Axminster is far lower than some neighbouring towns, yet it has more public buildings and open spaces to maintain. 

The increase is also far less that the increase imposed by Devon County Council of between £50 and £60 for the year.

The town council's forecast budget for the 2023/24 year is £342,666 and it is estimated it will need to spend £449,300 to maintain services, fund improvements and cover the inflationary costs of 11%+, which all existing services are affected by.

The council is asking residents for a flat 10% increase in council tax, but

has managed to increase its forecast spending by 31% by using reserves, maximising and actively collecting other non-precept income and applying for grants to fund large-scale projects.

Mr Hayward commented: "Mindful of the cost of living crisis, this will be a year of consolidation and careful spending. 

"Some of the projects that we had hoped to deliver may have to be parked for 12 months until better times come along.

"This will be disappointing to some residents, but we are as constrained by financial pressures as households are, and certainly the higher authorities - Devon County Council especially - will be making hard choices regarding budget cuts and may well expect smaller local authorities to pick up the responsibilities and duties without providing funding to cover the costs."

The mayor added: "It is going to be hard, very hard for the staff and hard for people who are expecting a lot from us, but I hope everyone will understand where we are."