The creation of Scarborough Town Council could see a £28 Band D charge added to residents’ council tax bills.
Next May, residents in the Castle, Falsgrave and Stepney, Northstead, Weaponness and Ramshill, and Woodlands wards will be asked to elect a total of 15 unpaid town councillors to represent Scarborough’s currently unparished areas.
The town council will be responsible for a variety of local services and events and will have the power to extend the scope of its duties from public benches and toilets to Christmas lights.
Ahead of elections and the authority’s formation North Yorkshire Council is required to set its budget and precept for the first year of operation.
Current proposals suggest a £384,000 budget for the town council which would include hiring a town clerk and administrative support as well as an interim clerk, equipment, and setting up a website.
The precept would also fund civic costs, minimum running costs, risk mitigation costs, and service development.
A precept of £384,000 would create a Council Tax Band D charge of £28.88 for residents in 2025/26.
Scarborough’s charter trustees will discuss the proposals at a public meeting on Monday, November 4 at Scarborough Town Hall before the proposal is presented to a full meeting of North Yorkshire Council in mid-November.
A report prepared for the meeting states:
“The new council, once elected, will determine priorities for expenditure but the opening budget needs to reflect the set-up of the new council and an estimate of basic core running costs.”
At a meeting of the charter trustees last week, councillors raised concerns about financial transparency and keeping residents appropriately informed and the meeting on November 4 was subsequently arranged.
After staffing which has been budgeted at £115,000 for the full time town clerk and admin support, the second largest single expense will be contingency funds at £100,000.
Officers have advised charter trustees that while at this stage the specific costs are not known, it would
“also be prudent to include a level of contingency to provide some reasonable headroom to mitigate financial and operational risks and also to provide some headroom for initial service delivery considerations”.
At the end of March 2026, any unspent balance would be carried forward to the following year to mitigate future risk and provide potential for service investments.
According to the report, the 2024/25 Band D charge for other towns in North Yorkshire ranges from “approximately £27 for Knaresborough to £129 for Selby with an average of £94”.
Members of the public are invited to attend the meeting at Scarborough Town Hall at 10 am on Monday, November 4.
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