WITH a bit of financial juggling of general and earmarked reserves not used in the past year, and by cutting nearly £16,000 from suggested budget expenditure, Newton Abbot Town Council has kept its precept to a five per cent increase.

After two-and-three-quarter hours the finance and general purposes committee on Wednesday agreed to a £185,605 budget for 2004/05, on a par with last year's increase.

Axed was a suggested £7,000 towards the Teignbridge Council-run tourist information centre in the town.

Members voted to chop their support to £500 after they were told that Dawlish and Teignmouth town councils paid nothing to the district authority for their TICs.

Cllr Ann Fry said the information bureau was open all the year round and was a good shop window for the town.

'I think you are being very short-sighted. You cannot compare it with Dawlish and Teignmouth and I think we are in danger of losing it if you give them £500,' she warned.

Councillors also decided not to splash out £3,000 to pay half to Teignbridge for the upkeep of the Newfoundland Way public conveniences.

Chairman, Cllr Roger Mewis said when a working party from the district council looked at the public conveniences throughout the district it had agreed that money saved from those closed would go towards those remaining open. 'I have seen nothing yet to suggest this,' he said.

Being budgeted by the activities committee is £8,500 towards an Air Training Corps parade in the town later this year featuring 300-400 cadets from squadrons across Devon and Cornwall, along with its Christmas lights.

But that was £1,000 lower than suggested.

Cllr Mike Hocking said though the town looked excellent and was one of the best in the region, he believed other ways of financing the lights should be looked at.

Cllr Ken Lewis said traders had to help themselves more. 'It is the traders who benefit. They have to contribute,' he stated.

Members agreed to allot £8,000, instead of £10,000 towards a public relations newspaper, including noticeboards, last year it spent £4,200, while a further £5,000 support for the Seale-Hayne Futures Group in its fight to keep the college open, was earmarked from reserves.

Cllr Mewis said if Seale-Hayne moved out of the area lock, stock and barrel, it would mean a £5 million loss to the local economy.

'In those terms I think £5,000 is very cheap,' he said.

The committee also pruned £100 from the £900 suggested for councillors' reception and hospitality.

Cllr Ken Lewis believed it should be halved, but Cllr Mike Ryan said councillors worked voluntarily and to cut a couple of glasses of wine every six weeks was petty.

'We could be claiming wages, but we don't,' he pointed out.