Budget 2024-25: Queries & Answers

Budget 2024-25: Queries & Answers

We've seen a number of comments/posts with speculation around certain aspects of our forthcoming budget for 2024-25. We wish to provide a summary post to try and answer some of those queries:

Precept Increase for 2024-25

  • For a Band D household in 2024-25, they will be paying £63.44 for the year towards the Parish Council.
  • The national Band D average is currently £79.71 so our Band D amount will be 25.6% lower than the national average.
  • The Band D amount in 2024-25 works out at an increase of just £1.19 per month for each household.
  • Our new Band D amount will also be the second-lowest in the borough, lower than the parishes of Vigo, Luddesdown, Cobham and Higham. Meopham Parish Council delivers a wider range of services than some of these smaller parishes so we feel our Band D amount is reasonable.

Staffing, Training & Membership Costs for 2024-25

  • An increase in staffing costs is taking place in the new financial year, this is following an independent staffing review conducted by local government professionals in May 2023 which identified a need for twenty-five additional hours per week. In addition salary levels were reviewed to ensure they were in line with the parish council sector. The recommendations of the staffing review were accepted in full by Parish Councillors.
  • The staffing budget for 2024-25 allows for four staff, a Clerk & RFO (32.5 hrs a week) and Deputy Clerk (30 hrs a week) along with the new roles of Assistant Clerk (15 hrs a week) and Finance & Grants Officer (10 hrs a week). A breakdown of individual salaries cannot be provided as this is exempt information under GDPR and FOI legislation, and so we are only permitted to provide a overall figure for staffing costs.
  • The creation of a dedicated Finance & Grants Officer role will enable the council to have the staffing resource to implement a fundraising and grants strategy to secure greater levels of grant funding to diversify the council's income and reduce dependence on the precept. Regretfully previous council administrations had not prioritised this aspect hence our reliance on the precept in setting this budget.
  • The training budget for 2024-25 is not just for staff, but also all twelve councillors. It also includes provisioning for purchasing legal reference books as and when legislative updates take place.
  • The professional memberships budget is not solely for staff, it also contains memberships for the Council as a whole, such as to the Kent Association of Local Councils and an annual HR support package.

Budget-Setting and Audit

  • Council staff do not set the budget, they prepare a draft budget which is presented to councillors for scrutiny and amendments. It is the Councillors as a corporate body who agree a council budget. It is also councillors who set the salary levels.
  • The Council is subjected to an internal and external audit process each year. We publish the AGAR documentation and internal audit reports on our website, they can be found at: http://meopham-pc.gov.uk/content/financial-information-annual-reports



We hope that assists in answering some queries. Please do not hesitate to email us on enquiries@meopham-pc.gov.uk