Some residents have been concerned to write to Ramsgate Town Council (RTC) asking why there is such a large apparent increase in the RTC precept.
RTC has to balance expenditure and income every year and to propose a budget, but this year a number of issues have come together to create a situation where the Council, after careful consideration decided to agree a substantial percentage increase to the local precept.
A mixture of current and cumulative losses combined with extra expenditure liabilities has created a situation where the Council had to take action.
Even allowing for the increase to £38.43/annum, this is less than the average for Kent which is currently £54/annum (and likely to rise still further) and much less than many other Coastal Counties where enormous precepts are being set.
It is also only a tiny part of the overall Council tax bill:
Assuming 1.99% increases for Thanet District Council (TDC), the Police and Kent Fire and Rescue, with 3.99% for Kent County Council (KCC), the percentage of the total Council tax charge for a band D property in Ramsgate for 2016/17 is as follows:
KCC = 70.35%
TDC = 13.38%
Kent Police = 9.43%
Kent Fire and rescue = 4.50%
RTC = 2.34%
Total = 100%
RTC’s increase works out at 91.5p/month extra for a band D household.
What has caused this increase?
In 2013 RTC faced losing nearly 30% of its income after Central Government cut its Council tax grant to TDC and in doing so cut our Council tax base from which we calculate our precept. Fortunately HMG made some amends, but we still lost £4,000 per annum income every year since then.
Last year that grant was cut by nearly £9,000 and again this year it was cut so that RTC has lost nearly £17,000 overall.
We had to take a view and felt that a budget which restored the likely complete loss of around £92,000 per annum would be required. If we received subsequent cuts in the future we would be able to ride out the loss by taking a prudent line with the budget.
Sums like £92,000 are too much for a small Council like RTC to contain and bear in mind we had already lost £33,000 in lost revenue.
RTC held the same budget for 4 years, with no increases for 3 years and that is estimated to have cost £29,000 in inflationary costs alone.
Our cumulative losses is therefore £62,000 and add our potential loss of the entire grant and lost income of £92,000, we are now exceeding £150,000 in losses of income potential.
That is the income side of the problem, let’s look at the expenditure:
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In 2016/17 RTC will be supporting free parking in Ramsgate at Leopold street car park that will cost £9,000 per annum.
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We will be expanding deep cleaning of the streets cost £8,000.
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Events funding costs £60,000 per annum and RTC will be taking the greatest burden, this year RTC have lost £12,000. TDC may well contribute but they are facing increasingly difficult financial circumstances and therefore we have to do more.
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The famous palms cost £10,000 per annum to look after and we now have expanded our improvement activities to other sites this sum may double or triple.
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RTC is acting as the body of last resort and we cannot know what the residents of Ramsgate will ask us to rescue or assist with, so we need more resources to ensure that Ramsgate continues on the path of regeneration.
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Our reserves which are literally our rainy day money are very low after 3 years of 0% increases and our auditor will require that we take action, if we allow this state of affairs to continue.
So there you have it, a perfect financial storm not of our making, with reducing income and greater liabilities. No one wishes to increase the precept unnecessarily, but we were forced by circumstances beyond our control to act prudently.
Even allowing for the increase RTC is a very prudent Council with one of the lowest precepts in the County if not the country, when compared to its size and needs.
You should not compare this to Margate as they have a Charter Trustees with very minimal powers to do anything within that town, RTC elected members do not receive an allowance.