COUNCIL tax bills for typical Band D householders in the Frome Valley area will rise by between £103 and £130 in April.
South Gloucestershire Council agreed a 4.99% increase – the maximum allowed without calling a referendum – at its meeting in February, to take its charge to residents with homes in the average Band D tax bracket up by £86.39, from £1,727.98 to £1,814.37.
Councillors also voted to bring in a series of charges, including for parking at council-run car parks, which will raise an estimated £1.5 million every year, and a doubling of green bin charges from £30 to £60.
The rest of the increase in council tax bills comes from other public bodies.
£279 bill for policing – £85 for fire service
Avon & Somerset’s police and crime commissioner Mark Shelford is raising charges for a Band D taxpayer by £13 (4.88%) from £266.20 to £279.20.
Avon Fire Authority will raise its annual charge by £2.48 or 2.99%, to £85.43 in Band D.
However the final amount paid in different villages varies according to the services such as parks and community buildings provided by parish councils, reflected in the parish precept charge, as well as ‘special expenses’ levied by South Gloucestershire Council for any neighbourhood facilities it maintains.
Town and parish councils are not subject to government restrictions on how much they can raise charges without calling a referendum.
Frome Valley’s highest bill is in Frampton Cotterell
In the Frome Valley, Frampton Cotterell has the highest precept and special expenses charges, with the result that the overall Band D council tax bill in the parish – £2,348.78 – is higher than in surrounding parishes, as it includes a £155.60 precept charge and £14.18 in special expenses.
Overall, council tax bills for residents in Band D homes in Frampton Cotterell will be £112.14 or 5.01% higher than last year.
The Band D precept charge has risen by £9.90 (6.79%) and special expenses by 37p for Band D – the other £101.87 is the increase in the other parts of the bill.
The overall amount the council raises from its council tax precept its up by 6.75%, from £381,303 to £407,041.
32% hike in Iron Acton Parish Council charge
The biggest increase in the area is for residents of Iron Acton, where total Band D bills are up by £129.56 or 5.98%.
The reason for the difference is that Iron Acton has raised its Band D precept by £27.66 (31.6%), with special expenses up by just 3p. The parish council’s overall budget has risen by 33.8%, from £61,206 to £81,920.
Winterbourne parishioners have the lowest overall increase of £102.89 or 4.83% in Band D, with a total Band D bill £2,231.58 from next month.
This is down to the precept charge for Band D householders rising by just 15p or 0.33%, from £45.36 to £45.51. special expenses are up by 87p.
An increase of just over 3% in the total precept raised from householders, from £189,050 to £194,750, is offset by an increase in the tax base, or number of homes paying tax.
In Rangeworthy, overall Band D bills are up by £119.77 or 5.65%, with £17.77 of the increase coming from the parish precept, which rises by 45.6%, and 13p from special expenses.
Westerleigh & Coalpit Heath Parish Council has raised its Band D precept by £2.29, from £58.45 to £60.74, a 3.92% increase. A 4.62% increase in the total precept raised from householders is offset by an increase in the tax base, or number of homes paying tax.
Special expenses are up 76p and the overall increase for Band D taxpayers is below average at £104.92 or 4.9%.
Charges vary by council tax band, linked to the size of a home. The lowest total bill in the Frome Valley is £1,487.71 for a Band A taxpayer in Winterbourne: a Band H household in Frampton Cotterell faces a bill of £4,697.56.
The Band D charge is used for comparison between areas because councils see it as the average paid by a taxpayer.