A RISE of more than 38% in the precept levied by Tavistock Town Council for the coming year was questioned during a meeting in the town last week. Resident Robin Start asked members at the full town council meeting why they had raised the precept by such a large amount, in the current financial climate. He also asked if the town council inspected every planning application regarding Tavistock which was submitted to West Devon Borough Council, and when new parking bays would be delineated in the Down Road 'triangle'. Cllr Harry Smith, chairman of the finance committee, said it was important to remember the town council's portion of the overall tax bill faced by residents was just 6%. He said that when West Devon and Devon County councils set their budgets for 2007/08, they increased their precepts by 4.8% and 4.9%, yet the town council reduced its by 1.1%. Cllr Smith said the projected increases in the cost of services provided by the town, the effect of inflation and the rise in wages and salaries had all been examined by the finance committee during the budget setting process. He said: 'Previous precepts have been kept at an artificially low level by offsetting some of the cost with the use of reserves. 'This year, we decided it would not be prudent to aim to spend more than we could forecast we would have coming in. With this in mind, we agreed to set a balanced budget with no payment from the reserves included in the calculation.' Town mayor Anne Johnson assured Mr Start that every planning application regarding Tavistock was considered by the town council and its comments were passed on to the planning authority. Mr Start was told work on the parking bays would be carried out in the coming year, most likely during the summer when similar work was being undertaken elsewhere in town.
