Budget
Cold Ash Parish Council has approved a budget of £65,413 for the year 2024-2025. This includes contracts for emptying litter and dog waste bins, grass cutting, tree work and maintaining safe and enjoyable play areas as well as administering the Council’s activities and The Poor’s Allotments & Recreation Ground Charities. The Poor’s Charities provide our Recreation Ground, Allotments and wonderful Wildlife Allotment Garden.
For the past four years, we have been able to use our financial reserves to pay the difference between our budget and the Council Tax precept. Unfortunately, this is no longer sustainable because our reserves are depleting, which means we may be unable to respond to problems as they arise; reserves must be maintained to allow the Council to continue operations while dealing with unforeseen difficulties such as flooding, climate change, and ash dieback. We worked hard to keep the budget as low as possible to mitigate the impact of CAPC’s enhanced precept proposal for 2024-2025 on ratepayers. The average Band D household’s CAPC contribution should rise by about £10.00 this year.
The budget is split into the following categories:
| Category | Description |
|---|---|
| Office | Clerk’s Salary & Pension Clerk’s Training Office Services (Electricity, Water, Phone, Alarm etc) Maintenance & Equipment |
| Administration | Postage & Stationary Reference Books & Councillor Training Meeting Room Hire Website Insurance Software |
| Subscriptions | Subscriptions to bodies that assist Parish Councils |
| Community | Grants Remembrance Day Wreath Grit Bins Library Grant War Memorial Maintenance Tennis Courts Maintenance |
| Environment | Street Lighting Waste/Litter/Dog Bin Collections Street Furniture Hedge & Grass Cutting & Maintenance Play Area Inspections & Maintenance |
| Neighbourhood Development Plan | Funding the creation/implementation of the NDP |
| Contingency | An allowance for unforeseen spending |
The 2024-2025 allowances for each budget category are as follows:
| 2024-2025 | Budget Allocation | Change from 2023-2024 |
|---|---|---|
| Office | £25,328.32 | +7% |
| Administration | £5,734.60 | +16.5% |
| Subscriptions | £1,379.00 | +5% |
| Community | £15,378.80 | +275% |
| Environment | £12,435.00 | -50% |
| Neighbourhood Development Plan | £2,000.00 | -60% |
| Contingency | £2,000.00 | 0% |
| Contribution to Reserves | £1,157.22 | -19% |
| Total Budget | £65,412.94 | -3.4% |
Explanation of budget changes – 2024-2025
| Cost Centre | Explanation |
|---|---|
| Office | Increases in staff costs Increased utility costs |
| Administration | New software provision including Office 365 and a finance package |
| Subscriptions | Increased charges |
| Community | Budget lines previously included within Environment, specifically related to the Recreation Ground and Allotments, have been reallocated here within a Community Grant to The Poor’s Allotments & Recreation Ground Charities, of which this Council is Sole Corporate Trustee. This change is reflected in the reduction in the amount allocated for the Environment category. |
| Environment | In addition to the explanation above, changes within this category include: Savings by appointing a new contractor for emptying litter and dog bins A new budget line for streetlight repairs Savings by using CIL monies to replace bins Increased grass cutting costs |
| Neighbourhood Development Plan | A reduced budget to facilitate the emerging NDP (expected May 2024) . |
| Contingency | – |
| Contribution to Reserves | Reduced to prevent a higher increase to tax payers than is absolutely necessary. Council will need to work to increase reserves in future. |
Funding
Funding for the budget comes from:
- Income from Glebelands Cemetery
- Council Tax Parish Precept
- Unspent monies from the previous year’s budget
For 2024-2025 the Cold Ash Parish Council Precept is £66,000
Annual Return
Every year the Council’s finances are audited by our internal auditor and by a Government appointed external auditor. The Council’s annual returns are published here every year.
Internal Auditor’s Reports
Notice confirming the dates when Parishioners can exercise their rights to examine the accounts.
Community Infrastructure Levy
Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) is a levy charged on most new development within an authority area. The money is used to pay for new infrastructure supporting the development of an area by funding the provision, replacement, operation or maintenance of infrastructure.
While most of the levy is allocated to West Berkshire Council a percentage is allocated to the Parish Council to spend in the Parish.
The Parish Council has to publish on its website how it spends this money and this information can be found below.