The Parish Council considered the detailed budget and the Precept request (the amount the Parish Council requires for meeting the expenses of running the Council) for the year 2022 / 23 at the meeting on 6 January.
The budget of £36,621 was agreed – (a decrease from £45,520). This took into account the range of Parish responsibilities including village grass cutting and weed spraying, the dog bin emptying, meeting costs, saving for replacement street furniture, road safety, reserves and the Parish Hall project.
The Parish had been given the Tax Base figure (broadly, the number of Band D equivalent dwellings in the village) by CDC which was estimated at 566.4; this was an increase from 536.3 the previous year. Following the calculations, it was agreed to increase the Precept to £29,895 which was an increase of £6,899. The annual cost to a Band D household would be approximately £52.98 – an increase of £9.90 over the whole year.
However, it is worth noting that the Band D equivalent for a resident of Bicester for 21/22 was £131.94.
More information about how the Tax Base figure is calculated is available on the Parish Council website at Financing the Parish Council
For anyone interested, the draft budget and precept calculations can be found on the Parish Council website under the January Items for Information at https://www.launton-pc.gov.uk/agenda-and-minutes/2021-2022-agenda-and-minutes/