The amount of Council Tax residents of Bishop Auckland Town Council will pay will increase for 2023-24 by 5% in Bishop Auckland Parish after the Town Council agreed an increase at the meeting of Full Council last week. This equates to an increase of £2.61 a year or 5 pence (5p) per week for a property in Council Tax Band D.
The Chair of the Finance Committee Cllr. David Wilson, said: “This last year brought with it some of the of the most difficult times for our residents, and as we now move into 2023 these challenging times are growing, and whilst the Council do not wish to add to anyone’s burden the Council are faced with a deficit. Whilst the Council all agreed that it is never ideal to increase taxes, we feel that after freezing Council Tax for the past couple of years this couldn’t continue, as it not financially viable to continually take from reserves to balance the books.”
“This was not an easy decision for the council to agree, it ensued lots of debate, initially it was hoped that the increase could be only 3% however this left a larger deficit to fill. With an increase of 5% a small deficit remains but we are confident with stringent planning that we can look to make savings to reduce the deficit moving forward.”
Mayor of Bishop Auckland Cllr. Michael Siddle said: “Whilst Covid-19 delayed some of our plans for events and activities, 2022 saw us come back with some fabulous events and activities to help bring people back together in Bishop Auckland, though the likes of the fabulous Jubilee Celebrations, and the wonderful Christmas Town Activity, all of which increased footfall in our town, which helped to boost our local economy. We hope to do more activities in partnership with others to support our communities during 2023.”
It was recorded that Bishop Auckland Town Council Precept for the forthcoming year 2023-24 will be £237,621 which is a band D equivalent of £54.71. The Council Tax for Bishop Auckland Town Council is collected by Durham County Council.
