COUNCIL tax bills for the typical household in three Yate and Sodbury parishes will top £2,600 for the first time this year.
Band D tax payers living in the area covered by Yate Town Council are set to pay an extra £127.85 or 5.02% from April, when increases in charges from South Gloucestershire Council, the town council, police and fire service are added up. It will take the total bill to £2,673.19.
Householders in the area covered by Dodington Parish Council will have an overall bill of £2,665.94, up £135.57 or 5.36% on last year.
Residents living within the boundary of Sodbury Town Council will see their total bills rise by £126.23 or 5.07%, to £2,613.90, for median Band D households.
Charges vary according to the parish residents live in, with some parish councils having more staff and facilities to pay for than others.
A bigger difference is between property values: this year’s overall bill in Yate ranges from £1,782.13 for householders in Band A (two thirds of the Band D bill) to £5,346.38 for people with homes in Band H (double the band D bill).
South Gloucestershire Council approved a 4.99% increase – the maximum allowed without calling a referendum – at its annual budget meeting in February.
It takes the authority’s basic charge to residents with homes in the average Band D tax bracket up by £94.66, from £1,904.91 to £1,999.57.
The council also levies a variable ‘special expenses’ charge for neighbourhood facilities it provides, which can include upkeep of neighbourhood parks and open spaces, where it runs them.
The rest of the overall bill is made up of charges from other public bodies.
Avon & Somerset’s police and crime commissioner Clare Moody is raising charges for a Band D tax payer by £15 (5.12%) from £293.20 to £308.20.
Avon Fire Authority is raising its annual Band D charge by £5 or 5.53%, to £95.43.
Band D bills for your area
Town and parish councils are not subject to government restrictions on how much they can raise without a referendum.
In the Yate and Sodbury area, Yate Town Council has the highest precept budget and charge, to pay for the buildings, parks and services it maintains, and as a result the overall Band D council tax bill is higher than in neighbouring parishes.
Yate’s £234 Band D precept charge is up £11.12 or 4.99% on last year – and the £35.99 special expenses charge for local services provided by South Gloucestershire is up £2.07 or 6.1%.
Town council budget over £2 million
The overall parish precept budget – the amount it asks South Gloucestershire Council to collect on its behalf – passes £2 million for the first time. It is going up going up by £121,835 or 6.25%, from £1,949,080 to £2,070,915.
Dodington Parish Council, which covers southern parts of Yate and Sodbury, has the second highest precept in the area: its Band D charge is rising by £16.72 or 9.49%, from £176.13 to £192.85.
Its budget is going up from £420,599 to £463,800, a rise of £43,201 or 10.27%.
Another £69.89 £65.70 in special expenses – a £4.19 (6.38%) increase – is also added to the bill.
Sodbury Town Council has raised its Band D charge by £9.75 or 5.69%, from £171.33 to £181.08.
Its budget is up by 7.01% or £26,881, from £383,266 to £410,147 .
Special expenses are up by £1.82 (6.55%) to £29.62.
An increase in the number of households paying council tax, as new homes are built, means the rise in parish charges is smaller than the percentage budget increase.
Westerleigh & Coalpit Heath Parish Council has raised its Band D precept by just 47p (0.77%), from £61.42 to £61.89. Its overall precept budget is up by £1,139 (1.13%). Special expenses are up by 16p to £5.10.
Iron Acton Parish Council has raised its Band D precept by £3.88 (3.14%) to £127.42, with special expenses up by 7p to £1.56. The parish council’s overall budget has risen by £5,554 or 6.07%.
Rangeworthy has the biggest Band D precept rise, up by £23.36 (40.9%) to £80.48, funding an £8,328 (41.3%) increase in the budget. Special expenses are up by 35p to £5.24.
Elsewhere, variations in parish and special expenses charges mean total bills are up by £112.81 (4.76%) in Cromhall (where the parish precept has gone down by £3 in Band D), £116.92 (5%) in Horton, £117.91 (5.14%) and £121.31 (5.10%) in Wickwar.
The highest council tax bills in South Gloucestershire are in Filton, where the town council pays for facilities including a leisure centre. Its Band D charge is £321.68, and total bills are £2,735.60.
The lowest are in Tormarton, where the Band D total is £2,406.48.
Council spends £20 million of reserves
SOUTH Gloucestershire Council is spending £20 million of its reserves to balance the books, as pressure on local services continues to build.
Changes to how business rates are collected have left the council £16m worse off this year, councillors heard as they met to vote on this year’s council tax bills on February 11.
The council will spend extra money on social care, equalities work, community cohesion, schools and other services, including school improvement programmes, support for children with complex needs and improving accessibility to local shops.
Council leader Maggie Tyrrell (Lib Dem, Thornbury), said: “Our costs are increasing faster than inflation, faster than government funding, and faster than it’s reasonable or sustainable to raise council tax.
“Although this is a very tight budget, we’re pleased to invest in areas of great importance to us.”
There is rising demand for spending on care for elderly and disabled people and supporting children with special educational needs and disabilities, and an increase in costs to maintain roads, with extreme weather making potholes worse.
Co-leader Ian Boulton (Lab, Staple Hill & Mangotsfield), said: “At a time when many councils across the country are struggling to balance their books, we have delivered a responsible and balanced budget that protects the services residents rely on.”
The budget includes a 19% increase in garden waste collection fees, from £63 to £75, and an increase in car park charges of between 5% and 15%. Charges for private hire taxi licences, pest control and planning applications are also going up.
Opposition Conservative leader Liz Brennan (Frenchay & Downend) accused the ruling coalition of passing a budget aimed at “short term survival” after her group’s proposals to spend more on fixing potholes and cut spending on council political assistants and communications staff were voted down.
Meeting report by Alex Seabrook, Local Democracy Reporting Service