Following the recommendation of the recent ‘Finance, Strategy and Management Committee Meeting’, Henley Town Council have set a balanced budget for 2023/4. Despite a background of high inflation and increased need due to the pandemic, councillors and officers have looked at ways to achieve best value, reducing costs, as well as increasing commercial income.

The budget means that households will be supported by keeping the increase in the precept for 2023/4 to a minimum – just 3% per household against current inflation of 11%. In terms of council tax, this equates to an average household paying just 6.7p per week extra or £3.48 per year.

Savings within the council have been made in areas such as staffing, as well as increases in commercial revenue from the introduction of the new Adventure Golf and revenue from car parking and mooring fees at Mill Meadows.

The balanced budget is very important for the Council; providing long term financial stability, while still investing in maintaining and improving services and public assets and supporting the wide community. Over£100k has been set aside in the budget in grants to support local groups to provide services to the town.

Councillor Ian Reissmann says “It is important the council manage its finances prudently and sustainably, while continuing to support residents by provide the services people want and need. Recently, we have made strenuous efforts to reduce the deficit, and with the help of the Town Clerk and other officers, we are now able to propose a budget which is revenue neutral. This is important in order to protect the Town Council’s finances. This is despite a cost of living crisis, spiralling inflation, and a pandemic which led us to spend 6 figure sums to help support residents and other organisations in the town across the periods of lockdown.

“This budget continues the council’s strategy of maintaining and improving services, keeping council tax rises below inflation, and increasing our reserves. and we still have the lowest council tax of all the South Oxfordshire towns.”

Town Clerk, Sheridan Jacklin-Edward adds “Creating a balanced budget is just a start. The Council will continue to review its spending to ensure we obtain best value, and increase our commercial income to enable us to deliver more and better services to the community.”

Key Facts

1.     The Town Council’s income from council tax (the precept) rises by 4.7% in total from £697,700 in 2022/3 to £730,848 in 2023/4.

2.     The tax base, a calculation of the number of 'average size’ houses in the area, has risen by 1.7% over the past year, so there are more homes to share round the increase. When new houses are built, the council tax bill gets shared out amongst them. This means that the actual increase in council tax that the average household will see is 3%.

3.     The average (council tax band D) household will therefore pay £119.78 in total next year, an increase from the current £116.30. This is a rise of £3.48 per year, or 6.7p per week.

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