Shipston Town Council freezes its precept for 2018/19

Shipston Town Councillors have unanimously voted to freeze the precept - the town council’s proportion of the Council Tax - at last year’s rates.

The town council’s precept will be maintained at £232,000 for the year April 2018-March 2019. Taking into consideration changes in the council grant system, the average Band D council tax payer will see an overall increase of 22 pence compared with last year. 

The town council’s precept is used to fund a number of services including town cleansing, cemetery and allotment management, and maintenance of play areas.  A planned reduction in council expenditure in 2018/19 of around £10,000 has enabled the town council to increase its support for community organisations by a similar amount, and set aside funds for larger projects to protect, maintain or improve the assets of the town. 

Mayor, Dan Scobie, said: “It is essential that we spend residents’ money wisely and our Finance Working Group has worked hard to ensure we can maintain high quality services and continue to support our community groups, without increasing the financial demand on our residents.”

Shipston Town Council’s precept is just one element of the Council Tax, which will also cover Stratford District Council, Warwickshire County Council and Warwickshire Police.