Note from the Chairman

NOTE FROM THE CHAIRMAN

Every year, the Parish Council has to decide how much Council Tax to collect from parish taxpayers. This is called the "precept". You will see on your council tax bill the various precepts for Kent CC, Swale BC, police, fire and other authorities that make up the total amount of the tax you pay.

As well as the normal expenses of a parish council such as street lighting and allotments, Lower Halstow is unusual in that it has responsibilities for the Brickfields, the burial ground, the sea defences and the dock. Not all parish councils have such responsibilities and this puts an additional financial burden on Lower Halstow.

Despite these pressures, the parish council recognise the impact and uncertainty that the Covid-19 pandemic has had on local families and - for this reason - has decided to freeze the precept for the coming financial year at £37,740. In addition, the street lighting grant has reduced by £1,500 as we switch to more energy efficient LED lighting. This represents an overall reduction in the parish council precept that you will pay next year.

When your bill lands on your doormat in the next few weeks, you will see that the precept will be shown - confusingly - as a 0.84% increase. This is because of the way the borough council works out the cost per property, and this calculation is affected by other constituent parts of the tax such as exemptions and single-person discounts.

Rest assured, and setting aside the complexities of the calculations, I can guarantee that the parish council will do everything in its power to make best use of the precept that it receives, delivering better services for our parishioners and continuing making our village a fantastic place to live and work.

Please let the Clerk know if you have any questions and I will do my best to answer them.

Keith Howard-Challis

Chair

Lower Halstow Parish Council