At the council meeting held on 09 January 2023, the Ash Parish Council (APC) agreed on a 1.93% council tax rise for 2023/24. As an example for a band D property, an increase of 1.93% means that the household will now pay £75.26 per year towards the APC precept, which is an additional £1.45 per year. This budget is set as soon as the precept has been calculated and issued to APC.
Cllr Nigel Manning explained that the budget has no increase to the cost of Ash Centre hall & football pitch hire at Harper’s recreation ground. He also said that the budget had been challenging due to inflationary pressures, however in part thanks to the new LED street lighting, it had allowed reduced electricity costs to be fixed in advance of the increased energy costs. As street lighting is unmetered, a cost is calculated based on the average wattage of the lights and APC is now paying the unit rate for lower consumption.
What is a precept?
The precept is a tax that Parish Councils charge their local electors/residents to meet their budget requirements. This is collected via the council tax bill, which includes tax for Surrey County Council (SCC), SCC Adult social care precept, Guildford Borough Council (GBC), Surrey Police and the APC Parish precept.