TEIGNMOUTH'S new precept – its own portion of council tax for the next financial year – was put on hold on Tuesday when the full town council failed to approve the figure agreed two weeks ago by the council's own finance & general purposes committee.
Instead of the expected rubber-stamping of their earlier decision, councillors voted to wait for a special committee to report on ways of achieving possible efficiency savings.
On February 3, after several acrimonious meetings over four weeks, and right up against an extended deadline, members of the F&GP committee had voted 7-5 for a precept of £134,100 for the financial year 2004/05.
This meant that a Band D household would pay 48p per week or just under £25 per annum, an increase of 6p per week, or 14.9 per cent.
An amendment from Cllr Roy Phillips that would have given a precept of £120,640 for the year – a 4 per cent increase, or just under 2p per week on a Band D household – was defeated by 7 votes to 5.
But on Tuesday evening the arithmetic changed in Cllr Phillips' favour. The Mayor, Cllr Vince Fusco, used his casting vote to carry a motion from Cllr Phillips that formal approval of the precept be delayed until the efficiency report had been heard.
'Rather than accept a precept increase based on a reduced wish list, we should look at reductions based on efficiency savings,' said Cllr Phillips. 'We also need to review the whole range of annual financial grants to clearly establish that they represent a level of equality to all local organisations.'
Cllr Mary Strudwick said the council had debated the precept ad nauseam. 'We have all looked at it very carefully and thoughtfully, and it is time that we stopped this nonsense,' she said.
After the meeting, Cllr Sylvia Russell said she had voted for the delay because it would be 'churlish' not to allow time for the committee to bring forward a list of possible savings.
'Although it's late in the day, we should hear all points of view,' she said. Cllr Russell added that most of the town council's budget went on grants to small groups. There was also only a small council bureaucracy – a full-time clerk and two part-time secretaries.
A Teignbridge spokesman said the authority wanted a response by the statutory deadline of March 1.
See also page 6