A TYPICAL council tax bill in the Downend area will rise by almost £114 in April.
When increases in the charges from South Gloucestershire Council, parish councils, the police and fire services are added up, a Band D householder living within the area covered by Downend & Bromley Heath Parish Council is set to pay an extra £113.73 or 5.02% this year, with their total bill now £2,381.39.
Charges vary according to property values, with this year’s overall charge in Downend ranging from £1,587.60 for Band A householders to £4,762.78 for people with homes in Band H.
South Gloucestershire Council’s ruling Liberal Democrat/Labour cabinet approved a 4.99% increase – the maximum allowed without calling a referendum – at its meeting in February, to take the authority’s charge to residents with homes in the average Band D tax bracket up by £90.54, from £1,814.37 to £1,904.91.
The increase was due to go before a meeting of the whole council after the Voice went to print.
The council also makes a separate ‘special expenses’ charge, which varies between areas, for neighbourhood services such as parks and other open spaces it maintains.
The rest of the increase in overall bills comes from other public bodies.
Avon & Somerset’s police and crime commissioner Clare Moody is raising charges for a Band D tax payer by £14 (5.01%) from £279.20 to £293.20.
Avon Fire Authority is raising its annual charge by £5 or 5.85%, from £85.43 to £90.43 in Band D.
However the final amount paid by people living in different areas varies according to the services provided by their parish councils.
Town and parish councils are not subject to government restrictions on how much they can raise charges without calling a referendum.
The Band D charge levied by Downend & Bromley Heath Parish Council has gone up by £3.06 or 4.68%, from £65.37 to £68.43, after the council raised its overall budget by £15,225 or 5%, to £319,725.
The special expenses charge in Downend has risen by 4.85% or £1.13, to £24.42 in Band D.
Emersons Green Town Council, which covers some areas of Mangotsfield and Downend, has increased its budget by 39.6%, from £584,600 to £816,102 – following a 91% increase last year.
Its charge to a Band D taxpayer has risen by 40.9%, from £83.72 to £117.93, meaning that overall bill in the area is £2,433.54 – 6.38% higher than last year, and £52.15 higher than in Downend.
Staple Hill & Mangotsfield Parish Council has increased its budget by 19.9%, from £126,616 to £151,795 this year, with the precept rising by £5.99 or 18.9%, from £31.63 to £37.62 in Band D.
Special expenses have gone up by £1.20 to £42.54, and the overall bill to Band D council tax payers is £2,368.70, up 5.18%.
The lowest overall bills in the area are for residents of Frenchay, which is part of Winterbourne parish.
There the parish council has increased its precept charge by £5.95, from £45.51 to £51.46, and the special expenses bill is up by 57p from £7.07 to £7.64.
The parish budget has risen by £28,315 or 14.5%, from £194,750 to £223,065.
Overall band D bills for Frenchay residents are up £116.06, from £2,231.58 to £2,347.64, a rise of 5.2%.
The highest council tax bills in South Gloucestershire are in Filton, where the parish council’s Band D charge is £312.33, and total bills are £2,610.75.