Have Your Say on Next Year's Budget and Proposed Precept

Parish Council has approved its budget for the next financial year, April 2026 – March 2027, as £11,116.43 (2025/26 budget is £9,964)

Below is a summary of what’s proposed along with explanations for why certain changes have been made. The council would really like to know your thoughts on the budget and how to provide feedback is covered at the end of this article.

Overview
Figures in this article have been rounded up or down to full pounds. Where actual costs for 2026/27 are not known, a 3% uplift has been added to help keep projections realistic. This is the council planning responsibly and allowing for inflation and unexpected changes.

Staff Costs - £4,219
Staffing is one of the council’s essential expenses. The figure above includes my salary, mileage, home working allowance, taxes and pension payments. It also includes a potential pay increase at my annual appraisal and 10 extra hours for unforeseen circumstances.

Administration Costs - £2,338
This area of the budget covers everything required to keep parish council running except staff costs. It includes insurance, training, website and software costs as well as hire of the Village Hall and publishing the Toller Times.

Council Assets - £220
Each year the council assigns funds to repair or replace the physical assets it owns. These include the bus shelter, notice board, signposts and replacement pads for the defibrillator.

The council decided to reduce all budget lines showing no spending since 2023/24 to £0 for 2026/27. The reserve for asset replacement is projected to be £4,950 at the end of the current year which is considered sufficient for the time being and has allowed funds to be allocated elsewhere.

Grants and Donations - £1,700
This budget area has been significantly increased from £700. The parish council hopes this increase will allow it to better meet the needs of the community.

Recreation Ground - £1,640
Earlier this year the council negotiated a new 3-year contract for grass cutting. This has increased the cost but has guaranteed more cuts in a more timely manner which means the Rec Ground will stay in good condition.

Repairs and replacement have been set to £0 for 2026/27. Should any costs arise, they will be met through the earmarked reserve which is projected to be £4,000 at the end of this financial year.

Reserves
£1,000 has been allocated in the budget to the Recreation Ground reserve for 2026/27. This earmarked reserve is to pay for repairs and replacements as described above.

The council’s long-term goal is to hold £20,000 in total reserves by 2031. Reserves protect the council from unexpected costs and allow it to plan responsibly for replacement of assets as they age and deteriorate without taking out loans. The total reserve at the end of this financial year is projected to be £14,692 and £15,692 at the end of 2026/27. To meet the goal £1,077 will be required per year from 2027/28 – 2030/31.

Precept for 2026/27
The precept is calculated using a simple formula: Budgeted Expenditure – Expected Income = Precept

The parish council does not have any income other than bank interest so the proposed precept for 2026/27 is £11,026, a 12% increase from this year - this does not translate into a 12% increase in your Council Tax! Increases will vary depending on the tax band you are in but the increased precept is likely to mean an increase of £2.50 - £3.50 per year for Band D properties. These figures will be finalised by Dorset Council in December and published as soon as possible.

Have Your Say
Please let the council know what you think about the budget and the proposed precept by 30 December 2025. You can do this by various means that are listed on the home page of this website where you'll also find links to budget documents for review.