ALTHOUGH it has reserves of more than £210,000, Wellington Town Council decided at its annual budget meeting to increase its own tax by over 45 per cent for the coming financial year.

The present figure of £27.40 for Band D properties will jump to £39.99 and its annual precept will go up from £122,816 to £186,100 for 2016-17 which will be used to fund its spending proposals.

The town council tax is still a very small proportion of the overall tax bill of more than £1,400 for Band D properties. Somerset County Council’s tax is £1,027, Taunton Deane’s tax is £137, the police tax bill is £174 and the fire tax bill is £74.

The town council made its decision after considering a detailed report from the clerk Greg Dyke who said that the rise equated to a 25p a week increase in the town council’s element of the council tax.

The county and Deane councils were cutting various services and it was likely that the town council would have to fill the gaps.

The council support grant was also being reduced from £13,770 to £9,180 in 2016-17 and it would be axed completely the following financial year. At the moment there was no cap on the amount town and parish councils raised but that freedom mightg not be available in the future.

Members were keen to take back responsibility for some of the services carried out locally in the past.It was felt that the council’s main aims should be to improve the local environment, co-ordinate support for older people, support families and young people, and be proactive in getting people into employment.

The public had been invited to make their views known about the council’s ideas on improving services in the town. The comments that had been received had been surprisingly positive, he said.They wanted the council to make sure the money was used wisely to improve the town and the environment.

Cllr Andrew Govier said that the town council’s increased budget was not just about replacing services which the Deane and the county were not providing. "We are an ambitious council and we want to do more and make Wellington a better place. We are raising money because we want to spend it on improving services in the town. We are not raising it for a rainy day. It is a larger increase than for some time and I hope residents will feel we have made the right decision."

Cllr Charles Biscoe said he hoped that the improved services would be sustainable and that "we will be able to keep them going in the future, having raised people’s expectations."

Cllr John Thorne said that Wellington was one of the lowest precepting town councils in Somerset. "It is a new era for the town council and we will be doing a lot more for the town than in the past."

Supporting the increased precept,Cllr Marcus Barr said he was "fed up living in a dirty town."

Hilly Head, Rockwell Green and The Well area of the Green were always quite disgusting and he wanted the town council to employ an extra collector to pick up the litter which people threw around.

The town council’s proposed expenditure for 2016-17 includes £65,000 for devolved services to meet the costs of service cuts by the Deane and the county as well as improved services, £15,000 for grants, £15,000 for Christmas lights, £7,500 for youth action, £6,000 for the youth council and £4,000 for the promotion of Wellington.

The Deane and the county have yet to make decisions on their council taxes but it is likely these will be increased.