Annual Budget
The preparation of an Annual Budget, as well as being a statutory duty of the Parish Council, is one of the most important annual tasks that the council must undertake. Each year, in November and December, a budget proposal is put to the parish council by the Parish Clerk, as its Responsible Financial Officer, to help councillors set a budget and agree the precept for the following financial year.
The proposal shows;
- planned expenditure, based on past costs and projections of future needs, taking into consideration the various projects that are either in progress or that it intends to tackle
- expected income, including the existing/proposed precept
- a precept calculation, taking into consideration the above
It is not lawful to set a precept unless a budget has been prepared and approved
The budget process;
- results in the council setting the precept for the following financial year
- gives the clerk overall authority to make spending commitments in line with the decisions of the council
- enables progress monitoring during the year by comparing actual spending against planned spending
It’s worth remembering that whilst the Parish Clerk receives a small remuneration (as required by law), every member of the council gives their time freely and receives no reward, financial or otherwise.
All documents are listed chronologically with the most recent being at the top of the list
Annual Precept
The Parish Council does not receive funds direct from central government as the other tiers of government do. Instead, we have to calculate how much we will need to;
- fund our planned capital spend on projects, allowing consideration for unforeseen costs
- fund our service contracts, eg: the emptying of bins, hedge and grass cutting, footpath clearance, playground maintenance, Wilds Way maintenance etc
- have funds set aside for unforeseen circumstances
- and elections
Once we have arrived at a figure, we then have to make a mandatory demand – The Precept – on the District Council for those funds and they convert it to an amount based on Band D properties. To calculate the amount for the other bands, simply multiply the amount shown for band D as follows:
Band A = Band D Charge × 6 ÷ 9 Band B = Band D Charge × 7 ÷ 9
Band C = Band D Charge × 8 ÷ 9 Band E = Band D Charge × 11 ÷ 9
Band F = Band D Charge × 13 ÷ 9 Band G = Band D Charge × 15 ÷ 9
Band H = Band D Charge × 18 ÷ 9
The Precept is then raised through the council tax from all the dwellings within the parish area and collected by NNDC on our behalf as part of your Council Tax bill. It is then paid to the Parish Council in two six-monthly instalments.
All documents are listed chronologically with the most recent being at the top of the list
Monthly Finance Reports
The Parish Clerk prepares monthly account reports for the parish council meetings which are checked by the councillors.
These accounts reports build towards the annual accounts, which undergo an internal and external audit every year.
The monthly reports are separated into the relevant accounting years, which run from April to March annually.