New public meeting to be held ahead of Whitby Town Council decision on council tax hike

A town assembly was held in December on the same subject but it was deemed “invalid” by Whitby Town Council due to a “failure to provide the requisite number” of days notice ahead of the meeting – but organisers were keen to still go ahead as “the issue was of importance to the rate payers of Whitby.”

It follows a Whitby Town Council (WTC) draft budget for next year which proposed an annual council tax increase in the Band D equivalent of £25.68, causing concern among residents.

But councillors have said that the draft budget proposal – which would have seen an almost 46 per cent hike – has already been rejected.

The Town Council will meet on Tuesday, January 9, the day after the town assembly, to approve an annual budget for the year ahead.

Members of the town council finance committee said that on December 5 they “voted to reject budget proposals from a range of sources for 2024/25 that would’ve seen the council tax precept raised by 46%”.

Coun Asa Jones and Coun Linda Wild said that the committee had instead asked for suggestions to lower the precept increase and “allow an alternative budget to be agreed”.

The new town meeting is still set to go ahead so that residents and councillors can discuss the proposals for the 2024/25 financial year.

Following December’s town assembly, a number of questions regarding Whitby Town Council’s budget and use of funds have also been raised with the authority.

According to official documents, next year WTC is projected to see reduced income – including from its public toilets – in addition to major increases in its expenditure.

The council’s audit costs are projected to rocket from £1,700 a year to £21,700 – an increase of more than 1,176 per cent.

Coun Wild, who chairs the WTC finance committee, said that the authority was being forced to cover audit fees due to “a multitude of objections submitted by a single local elector, only one of which has been accepted for further investigation by the external auditor.”

Coun Jones suggested an increasing the public toilet charge to 50p could lower the tax precept “from £25.68 per year to £20.65 per year with cuts to other aspects of the budget such as not re-designing the website and reviewing the Christmas lights arrangements”.

Members of the public will be able to attend both the town assembly and WTC meeting.

• The town meeting/assembly will be held on Monday, January 8 at 6pm in the Ballroom of the Royal Hotel, West Cliff.
• The full budget meeting of Whitby Town Council will be held on Tuesday, January 9 at 6pm in the Pannett Gallery.