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30
Oct
Expected new council tax charge for Harrogate homes revealed
Harrogate households will have to pay an additional council tax charge next year to cover the costs of the new town council.
Elections for Harrogate Town Council will take place in May next year.
A report published today (October 30) by North Yorkshire Council reveals how much the town council’s first year budget is expected to be — and how much residents will have to pay to fund its work.
The budget, which includes £125,000 on a full-time clerk and administration support, is forecast to be between £312,000 and £512,000.
A total of 28,427 households in the new Harrogate parish will have to share the cost, which the report says means the council tax band D charge will be between £10.98 and £18.01.
This new parish precept will be in addition to the sums already paid to fund North Yorkshire Council and police and fire services.
Ripon City Council charges £76.41 and Knaresborough Town Council charges £26.92.
The Harrogate precept may be lower but it is likely to increase in subsequent years once the new town council takes on additional powers and responsibilities. North Yorkshire Council officers previously suggested it could be between £40 and £60.
The report says:
The new council, once elected, will determine priorities for expenditure but the opening budget needs to reflect the set-up of the new council and an estimate of basic core running costs.
At this stage the specific costs are not known and therefore it would also be prudent to include a level of contingency to provide some reasonable headroom to mitigate financial and operational risks and also to provide some headroom for initial service delivery considerations.
Cost breakdown
The predicted costs are:
- Key staff £125,000 (full-time clerk plus admin support)
- Minimum running costs £60,000 (premises, insurance, audit and other finance and legal support fees)
- Civic duties and events £26,000
- Set-up costs £51,000 (Interim clerk, equipment and website)
- Contingency £50,000 to £200,000
The current charter trustees for Harrogate Town Council, who were installed to maintain civic traditions when Harrogate Borough Council was abolished last year, will discuss the report at a meeting on November 13.
Harrogate and Scarborough are currently the only unparished locations in Harrogate.
How much other places pay. Source: North Yorkshire Council
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