Council taxpayers in Okehampton will see a modest increase in the town’s share of the council tax from April, after Okehampton Town Council set its precept.

The council voted at its meeting on Monday, January 28 to set the precept (the council’s share of the council tax) at £249,753 for the year from April 2019 to March 2020 from £239,941 from the previous year This amounts to an extra £6.03 a year for an average Band D property, compared with the previous year, equating to an extra 12p per week.

The town or parish council precept is 4% of the total of each resident’s council tax bill, with the lion’s share of 66% going to the county council to fund services like social care and education, while 10% funds the police, 12% goes to West Devon Borough Council and 4% to the fire service. There is also an additional 4% in a separate pot to fund adult social care in Devon.

In Okehampton, the town council is taking on the extra responsibility of the public toilets and garden at Fairplace previously run by West Devon Borough Council, as part of the borough council’s own efforts to balance its books.

The town council budget also includes £2,000 to be given to a separate not-for-profit marketing organisation to promote the town and £1,500 set aside as a contingency plan for replacing the roof of the Charter Hall in the future.

In Okehampton Hamlets parish, meanwhile, the precept is being increased from £18,759 to £21,720 for the year from the start of April, which adds up to £39.45 on a Band D property for the year, an increase of £3.55 for the year, or 7p per week.