At their April 2023 meeting the Parish Council agreed the final 2023/24 Budget.
There are four budget headings, or Cost Centres. These are:
- Administration – the costs of running the Parish Council, such as wages, insurance, training, meeting room hire, etc.
- Grants – the amounts provided by the Parish Council to support local charitable organisations who provide important services for local residents
- Projects – these are the one-off improvement projects that, once in place, become a service that the Parish Council provides, such as the improvements to Jubilee Pond
- Services – the day-to-day services provided by the Parish Council, such as maintenance of council equipment (play areas, bus shelters, etc.), litter collection, grass cutting, the Youth Project, drainage, allotments, and more.
Within each budget heading, the Parish Council has allocated a budget for individual items, or Cost Codes. This allows the Parish Council to keep track of expenditure during the year and make adjustments as necessary. The purpose of the budget is to provide transparency and clarity over how public money is going to be spent, and in-year changes to the budget can only be made at a Parish Council meeting. Budget figures are allocations, rather than targets, and the Council will always seek to spend public money professionally and efficiently, but also with sustainability, environmental and public safety & wellbeing issues at the heart of individual decisions.
Income
The primary source of income for the council is the amount allocated by East Riding of Yorkshire Council, known as a precept, which is raised through council tax. The total precept for Gilberdyke Parish Council for 2023/24 is £74,500 and you can see how much of your council tax is being used for Gilberdyke Parish Council on your 2023/24 Council Tax bill.
Annual household costs for Gilberdyke Parish Council based on Council Tax property bands:
- Band A £44.06
- Band B £51.40
- Band C £58.75
- Band D £66.09
- Band E £80.78
- Band F £95.46
- Band G £110.15
- Band H £132.18
The Parish Council also applies for grants, either directly or indirectly (for example, through the Youth Project), to support some of the activities during the year.
Expenditure
For various historic reasons, Gilberdyke Parish Council has reserves in the bank. These reserves were originally allocated to projects that either did not take place or have since been overtaken by events. in 2021/22 and 2022/23 the Parish Council began the process of allocating these reserves to new projects. These included:
- the Remembrance Garden at the War Memorial Hall
- the external refurbishment of the War Memorial Hall
- improvements to safety, security and accessibility at Jubilee Pond
The Parish Council has also started to work with two key organisations in Gilberdyke, the Gilberdyke War Memorial Hall and the Gilberdyke & District Leisure Association, to help ensure their long term future. This will continue in 2023/24.
The major projects that the Parish Council has committed to are:
- the expansion and improvement of the play area at the War Memorial Hall playing field
- the provision of storage facilities to support the development of the council’s Streetscene team
- delivering improvements at Ings’ View
- clearing and repairing (if necessary) the council-owned drainage system known as Scalby Lane drain
These are multi-year projects and the budget allocation for them will be for the lifetime of those projects. Once complete they will become part of day-to-day expenditure.
Reserves Policy
The Parish Council adopted a Reserves Policy, drafted by the Clerk, on 12 December 2022. There are three types of reserve:
- Strategic – where the council has a plan for expenditure but has not yet fully costed and budgeted the activity in question.
- Specific – these are where funds have been allocated for a specific, fully costed and budgeted liability, activity or project only. Once complete they are not replenished, having served the purpose for which they were established.
- General (or operational) – these can be used to smooth the impact of uneven cash flows or in case of unexpected events or emergencies. The council will aim to ensure that the amount held in the general reserve should not exceed 60% or fall below 40% of the annual precept. Essentially this reserve is to ensure that the Parish Council can continue to operate under extreme circumstances.
Any Questions?
Please use the form on the Contact Us page.
