Good housekeeping by Narberth Town Council means that there will be no increase in their budget for the fourth successive year. At Tuesday night's meeting of the council, the first of the new year, members agreed that their precept requirement for the forthcoming 12 months should remain at £32,000. The only debating point was the reference in the clerk's report that the Mayor's expenses budget had been set to 'adequately' reflect the actual costs incurred by the Mayor in carrying out his or her duties. Clr. David Norcross made the point, however, that any member who had served as Mayor, would know that there was no way that the expenses covered all of the costs incurred during his or her year of office. Whilst members agreed with the views expressed by Clr. Norcross, it was decided not to alter the figure of £1,500 for expenses at this time, but that the subject would be considered in more detail at the next finance committee meeting. Among other main items of expenditure, meanwhile, are the clerk's salary, with the budget having been increased from £7,700 to £8,000 to reflect the progression increment anticipated in April, with clerk's expenses remaining at £1,700. A figure of £1,750 has again been set aside for various civic functions, with the anticipated cost of room hire at the Queen's Hall remaining at £600. Narberth Town Council has always been known for its great support of the community and a sum of £26,000 has been included in the budget to cover donations to a number of town projects and organisations. These include a Bloomfield donation of £1,500; Queen's Hall £1,500; Narberth Museum £1,500; Narberth Bus Stop £1,500; Skatepark £1,000; Swimming Pool £500; Narberth Cricket Youth £500; Narberth Rugby Youth £500; Narberth Football Youth £500; Civic Week £500; as well as £2,000 for miscellaneous donations. Also included is £1,500 for environmental improvements, while the budget for the erection, dismantling and maintenance of the town's Christmas lights, along with the energy costs, continues at £5,000. Turning to some of the other major items in the budget, the clerk said that it was anticipated that the tenancy of the Town Hall would continue and would provide the council with an annual income of £9,700, including the income from the lease of the 'Undercroft'. It was recommended, however, that the 'building maintenance reserve' of £1,000 remain in place to cover the costs of maintaining the town clock. It was also recommended that that Narberth Castle maintenance budget be reduced from £2,000 to £1,500 to cater for grass cutting, water supply and other maintenance that would be needed to keep the castle in good order. The figure was based on the historical spend over the last two years. Moving on to the subject of the twinning with Ludlow, the clerk said that as this had been a new venture, it had been prudent to set a budget (£1,000) for any expenditure involved. However, it was now recommended that this budget should be ceased in line with no expenditure having been placed against this item for the last two years. This was agreed. With regard to the burial ground, meanwhile, it was recommended that the budget be kept in line with that of the previous financial year at £2,500. Finally, when all figures were taken into consideration, it left the council with an anticipated 2008/2009 expenditure of £43,370, with the anticipated income amounting to £13,661 - a balance of £34,709. With a surplus balance of £5,167 from the previous year leaving a figure of £29,541, it meant that the minimum precept requirement (when rounded up) was £30,000. The council accepted the recommendation, however, that it be set at the same level as last year, i.e. £32,000.
