Parish Council Tax Rise

A fascinating table below which will shortly appear in the Budget for next year which shows the Parish precepts calculated by Medway Council.

Many reading in Medway will not be impacted but approximately 25,000 residents will have to pay these increase because they live within one of these parished areas.

Unlike Medway Council which has its Council Tax rates capped it appears some Parishes are happy to continue with double digit tax rises at a time the public is suffering.

Some of these Councils are represented by Conservatives who celebrate their bequethed inheritance of low tax on Medway Council but as yet have said little about their own Parish Councils tax and spend policies.

I am a big fan of localism if there are contested and viable elections where opponents and individuals are rightly presenting different visions for their area. I am concerned that many of those parishes with double-digit tax rises have Councillors that were elected uncontested.

In the 21st century there is a real debate to be had about whether it is right that those elected unopposed have the real right to increase taxes on their population who turn out in such low numbers to elect them.

Parishes need to do a lot more over the next decade

TOWN & PARISH COUNCIL PRECEPTS

	2012/13			2013/14
Parish/Town Council		Precepts	Council Tax		Precepts	Council Tax	C Tax
		£	Band D (£)		£	Band D (£)	Increase
Allhallows		49,900	79.54		44,310	80.60	1.33%
Cliffe and Cliffe Woods		43,252	22.75		40,185	22.87	0.53%
Cooling		2,400	28.37		2,320	27.76	-2.15%
Cuxton		50,640	48.68		53,120	54.62	12.20%
Frindsbury Extra		46,000	18.42		47,400	20.46	11.07%
Halling		34,400	32.32		36,150	36.65	13.40%
High Halstow		40,000	53.97		38,540	53.32	-1.20%
Hoo St. Werburgh		38,513	12.10		37,974	13.36	10.41%
St. James Isle of Grain		28,927	58.93		26,649	64.84	10.03%
St. Mary Hoo		6,000	58.37		5,780	59.08	1.22%
Stoke		19,000	52.35		15,850	51.86	-0.94%
TOTAL		359,032			348,278