The Smalltown and Dullbridge (SaD) Town Council Finance and Misappropriation Committee has agreed to add £67,094 to the 2024/25 budget to cover the costs of taking on services from the All-New-Yet-Unimproved Somerset Cuonty Council. This sum will fund the toilets and will also be used to employ a Highway Man, who will be responsible for waylaying residents and collecting their taxes.
A number of changes were made to the draft SaDTC 24/25 budget including adding in £2,500 which the council hopes to gain from a higher rate of interest on its savings account.
A further £5,000 was added to the income for burials – assumedly to be gained from the extra deaths of pensioners when they open their Council Tax demands.
Reductions were made to Dictator Dullard’s Climate Rescue Action Plan (CRAP) which lost £3,500 and the £10,000 budgeted for Local Government Reorganisation was totally removed, as Councillors agreed that the reorganisation involved in creating the All-New-Yet-Unimproved Somerset Cuonty Council had been an unmitigated disaster and there was no point in continuing to fund it.
A proposal from Head of Mathematics, Banish Barracuda to increase income at the White Elephant Enclosure was rejected by Deputy Dictator Cruella Sherry, ably supported by Squire Teflon, so the WEE is set to receive its full budget request of £177,094. As SomersetClive detailed yesterday, the WEE receiving the full requested amount was never in doubt as WEE Mismanagement Committee members who are also on the Finance and Misappropriation Committee had already agreed amongst themselves not to allow any changes.
The adjustments and additions saw the SaD portion of the precept rise from £899,091k to £945,091k, which is an increase of £94,556 more than last year.
The 2022/23 budget of £694,500 set by the Illiberal Party, who were in control of SaD TC at the time, has increased by around 40% in the two years the Town Council has been under the BeFuddleds and has led to residents questioning exactly what they are getting for their money, as the Illiberals were well known for wasting money on arches and Ice Rinks, whereas now both Smalltown and Dullbridge look unkempt and uncared for, with no indication as to where money has been spent.
The new figures will now be included in a second attempt at setting the 2024/25 and will be discussed at the next Finance and Misappropriation Committee meeting. Unless further funding can be found from an alternative source, such as down the back of the sofas in the Staff Room at the Hayloft Road Retirement Home, this means that Smalltown and Dullbridge residents can look forward to a 16% increase on their SaD portion of Council Tax. This equates to an extra yearly rate of £19.94 for an average Band D property.