January’s meeting of Frome Town Council had a packed agenda as usual; the decision about the council tax precept for FTC is taken at the first council meeting each year.
Also up for discussion was the council’s work programme and the Council Plan for 2025-27, policing in Frome, progress on a banking hub and the formal closure of the Weymouth Road residents’ parking scheme. Lenka Grimes of Fair Frome gave an update on the charity’s work in 2024. The need to improve Frome’s sporting facilities, developments at Badgers Hill, and a request for council backing for an extension to the Cheese and Grain, as it awaits a decision on a £5million grant and potential funding from other sources, were also part of a lively and well attended meeting.
Leader of the Council Cllr Steve Tanner presented a budget he described as ‘robust, costed and ambitious’, while acknowledging the fact that many residents continue to face challenging times. An increase of Frome’s council tax precept by 6.6% for a Band D property in Frome was proposed for 2025/26. 76% of Frome households are in Bands A to C and will pay less than 6.6%
Steve Tanner says: “We have worked hard to keep the percentage at 6.6%, mindful that there are some people in Frome who are struggling. This budget is designed to protect what is important, to purposefully put measures in place both to support residents and community organisations, to embrace devolution and to protect our environment and our biodiversity.”
Town Clerk Paul Wynne and Business Manager Sarah Williams took the meeting through a more detailed exploration of the budget. Elements of the budget, such as those linked to the devolution of assets and services from Somerset Council, remain under discussion at the time of voting. Paul Wynne assured the meeting that decision-making was not fixed at the point of this evening’s vote and will be reviewed regularly, with opportunities for councillors and the FTC Oversight Committee to revisit spending decisions in light of developments.
Cllr Lisa Merryweather shared the mixed feelings of councillor colleagues about raising council tax for residents in tough financial times. Cllr Nick Dove, who voted against the raising of the precept, felt that greater, granular transparency about the council’s costs, and alternative ways to meet the council’s costs, needed to be explored, instead of meeting costs by raising council tax. The rise in the council tax precept for 2025/26 was passed by majority vote.
Cllr Fiona Barrows, who presented the new Council Plan for 2025-27 at the meeting said ‘It’s not the council’s money, it’s the town’s money, and we have to make sure it’s spent for the town’s benefit’. The challenge of a growing council, ensuring its governance and processes are robust, while preserving FTC’s ability to be agile and creative, was a challenge FTC needs to meet.
Watch the council meeting in full at bit.ly/ftc-meeting-15-Jan-2025
