We’ve set the 2013/14 Council Tax

Capture 2013-14 Tax Rates

 

Last Friday (1st March) I had the honour of chairing the Council Tax Setting Committee of South Somerset District Council. This doesn’t happen often (indeed ever), but the Police were so late setting their budget that it wasn’t available at the normal Council Meeting. Hence my sitting on a sub-committee with 5 colleagues (in political balance, of course).

As you see, Brympton’s precept was among the lowest. Indeed most parishes went for an increase in tax. Various good reasons, but this is probably the last uncapped year for parishes and I worry we may have missed out – Lufton’s new village hall won’t build itself and it would be better, in my view, to spread the cost collecting over many years rather than borrowing.

The trouble with a low precept is the taxpayer ends up paying for paperwork instead of projects. Ah well.

2013/14 Council Tax levels

 

I’ve just been doing some hunting round to work up a comparison of the Somerset districts basic Council Tax. The graph below includes the very significant County Council tax, the Police precept, the Fire and Rescue Service Precept and each District’s own Council Tax element. It does not include the local Parish or Town Council precept, which can vary widely.
Council Tax comparison

Those of you with very acute eyesight will detect that South Somerset does actually have a very, very slightly higher tax level For a Band D property it’s £9.46 a year or 0.6% higher than Mendip, equivalent to 18p a week. I hope that’s not enough to make anyone want to move there!

South Somerset fly-tipping figures fall

Fly-tipping figures released today [15 October 2013] by the government show incidents county-wide have dropped by 497 or 8.7% from 5,687 to 5,190.

South Somerset’s fall has carried on into the first three months of this financial year, down by 114 to 338 on the same period last year, and down by 94 on January-March 2013. All Somerset districts saw improved figures in 2012/13; as well as South Somerset, Mendip was down 73 to 1,631, Sedgemoor down 306 to 1,161, Taunton Deane down 42 to 646, and West Somerset down 71 to 93.

The improvements were first reported to the Somerset Waste Board four months ago in June, and follows a path previously predicted by board chairman Cllr Derek Yeomans. The fall has coincided with greater efforts to deter fly-tippers, through new equipment, warning signs and further training for district enforcement officers, backed by Somerset County Council.

South Somerset and other councils are moving to reduce the fly-tipping “supply” by urging residents and businesses to check if those removing rubbish – such as builders – have the correct waste carrier’s licence. Councillor Jo Roundell Greene, Portfolio Holder for Environment and Economic Development said, “Building on this good news, this district will continue to fight fly-tipping, with our enforcement staff leading the way in tackling this crime. You can play a vital role by reporting suspicious activity and giving evidence, as this remains a tough crime to deter or prosecute. We must ensure that our countryside is kept looking beautiful. One thing we can all do is to ensure our own household or business rubbish is not fly-tipped; just ask anyone taking it away – builders, gardeners and other tradespeople – for their waste carrier licence.”

Clearing up Somerset’s fly-tipping costs South Somerset and the other district councils a total of around £150,000 a year, with the County Council contributing about £36,000 in 2012/13.

Food recycled for cooking … and lighting

Gas generation starts at Walpole Digester

 

CaptureDeliveries of food waste to the anaerobic digester commenced on 20th August as part of the commissioning process. The amount of food waste will be increased gradually over the commissioning period until the point where all food waste arisings collected by SWP from the county will be received.

The plant is already producing gas in low quantities. The first of the gas engines is being installed and will be able to commence electricity production once the volume of food input and gas output have increased sufficiently over the coming weeks. The commissioning period is expected to last 3-6 months.

For more details of the plant click here

Somerset Waste Partnership – Flooding and severe weather

Somerset Waste Partnership continue to collect waste from communities cut off by the floods, working with local volunteers and in some cases with the Red Cross and Fire Brigade to use their amphibious vehicles. 

  • So far, collections have focused on the collection of refuse for disposal, but arrangements are also being made to start collections of materials for recycling, where these can be handled in clear sacks that will be provided.
  • Arrangements have also been made to provide extra waste collections to support emergency centres and skips to assist with volunteer clean-ups where flood water has receded.
  • There is an increase in bulky items, such as damaged carpets and furniture, being delivered to recycling centres, which it is expected will increase over the coming weeks and months.

SSDC 2012-13 Budget

SSDC’s net revenue budget is £16,577,000, a cut of £768,400 (or 4.4%) from 2011/12. This has been achieved in the face of significant cost inflation (e.g. fuel) and without any significant loss of front-line services. The Council’s share of the total Council Tax (for a Band D property) will remain at £150.74; which is 10 % of your total tax bill.

The full budget book can be downloaded from here. Alongside each service heading, it is made clear how the service is funded (business rates, council tax, grant, etc).