At a time when a lot of town and parish councils are increasing their precepts, some significantly, Alderley Edge Parish Council is proud to have managed to freeze their precept for the fifth year in a row.
Speaking about how Alderley Edge Parish Council decides the precept, a spokesperson said "Each year Alderley Edge Parish Council undergoes a budgeting exercise to decide how much money is required to provide, manage and run the services that the Council delivers for the people of Alderley Edge.
"The amount of income that is estimated as part of the budget is deduced from the amount of projected expenditure. This sum is known as the precept, and is added as an additional amount to residents' Council Tax bills."
The precept was increased by 50% for the financial year 2016-17 to cover the cost of running the Medical Centre and Festival Hall in the short term. This resulted in a total increase in income from £120,000 to £180,000 - equivalent to an increase of just under £2 per month for a Band D property.
Then for 2017-18 Alderley Edge Parish Council agreed to keep the precept at the same level. They had hoped to be able to reduce it but decided that they were not in a position to do so yet. The following year Alderley Edge Parish Council agreed to increase the precept by 3% for 2018-2019 - from £180,000 to £185,400.
The above diagram shows how the Parish Council spends their precept, based on 2022/23 year to date figures.
