RATEPAYERS in Okehampton will face a rise of less than 5% on their council tax demands for the coming year, following a budget rise agreed by members last week. The precept agreed for the town council for 2006/07 will be £169,313 or £75.28 for a person living in a band D property, rising by £2.72 from last year. However, Cllr Charles Letchford pointed out to members that this precept was just £351 more than that levied three years ago in the 2003/04 budget. As the number of ratepayers has increased in that time, the actual amount paid by the average homeowner is less than it was at that time. Councillors calculated this year?s rise amounted to around 23p a month or less than a penny a day. Cllr Mark Slater said the council was coming towards the end of a series of major capital projects and there might be more scope for reducing the precept in future years: ?At some point we are going to have to call a slowdown for capital projects. Once we finish the job we are going to have to budget a lot more leanly and give people a break.? Among the items the budget makes provision for are the restoration of the town crest, the provision of new chairs for the charter hall and grants to the Ockment Centre and community transport. Councillors decided to remove £14,000 which had been identified in the budget to carry out wirescaping and resurfacing of the access road in Simmons Park. They would instead encourage the parks committee to make a bid for these funds through its share of the Waitrose receipt, which the town council is due to receive for the final time next year. The precept levied by parish and town councils forms a fragment of the overall council tax demands which incorporate precepts levied by the local borough council, county council and police authority as well.
