NEWTON Abbot Town Council's precept is set to rise by 20 per cent if a recommendation from the committee is accepted by the full council on Wednesday. But Cllr Mike Hocking said it had to be taken in context – it represented a 10p a week increase to Band D householders in the town. 'Instead of paying 49p a week to Newton Abbot, they will be paying 59p,' said Cllr Hocking. If the full council agrees, the precept is set to jump from £212,400 last year to £254,880 this. Cllr Mike Ryan said that in 2005/06 the council overspent by £50,000 and last year cut it down to the bone to keep the budget as low as possible. 'If we had not overspent in 05/06 we would not be in this position. We made the mistakes and we will have to take the stick,' he said. Cllr Allan Vizor said that during his mayoral year in 2003/04, the budget was cut to the bone. 'I did say then that this would come home to roost,' he said. Cllr David Howe said he was a little sad about a 20 per cent rise. 'I think we are paying the price for the overspend in the last couple of years and having to put it back into reserves. We should be using reserves judiciously,' he contended. The town clerk, Rod Tuck, said they were talking about two or three per cent of the total council tax. Newton Abbot's was the smallest slice of the cake which involved Devon County and Teignbridge Councils, the police and fire service. Since July, a strategic working party, chaired by Cllr David Corney-Walker, had been set up to prepare a three-year rolling budget as part of the council's future core strategy. He told the committee that this year there was unavoidable expenditure of £6,000 because of the local elections, increased gas and electricity charges, and salaries had to be paid at the national rate. 'Newton Abbot Town Council's figure is less than many. When we know the figures that go into Teignbridge, I will predict Newton Abbot will still be less than many others,' said Cllr Corney-Walker. Cllr Anne Fry was disappointed that the council had put in a lot of time and effort into becoming a quality council. 'Unfortunately there have been no monetary advantages, but we have had expenditure. The council newsletter is also costing us an awful lot of money, and a lot of money has been spent on the Christmas lights,' she said. The council had budgeted £5,000 for public relations, including newsletters, in 2006/07, but at the end of December that figure was already at £7,848. The proposed budget for the coming financial year is £6,000. Mr Tuck said they were looking at ways of cutting the cost of the newsletter, while the current supplier of Christmas lights was meeting the core strategy committee in the hope that the lighting features this year could return, along with features that will not cost as much. The meeting heard that Asda had put in £11,586 towards last year's Christmas lights and the council was presenting a £6,000 lighting budget for the 2007 festive season.
