PEOPLE in Wellington should brace themselves for another increase in Wellington Town Council’s share of the overall Council Tax bill – although it will help to protect and improve local services.

It has been well-documented that the town council has stepped in and taken on a number of services from cash-strapped Somerset Council.

Either the town council took on extra services or they would be lost forever through cuts by Somerset Council. Although it is commendable that the local authority is stepping in, it comes at a cost of nearly £1,459,132.50.

Although £68,240 of that is expected to be recouped through income in the 2025-26 financial year, the remainder will have to come from the precept – the Council Tax paid by local taxpayers.

But it will not be known until January how much it will cost the taxpayers once the council has received more information and extra number-crunching has been carried out.

And Cllr Justin Cole, speaking at the town council’s monthly meeting on December 2, said: “I can’t vote for this budget at the moment. I don’t think we can sign off the budget separate to the precept. I don’t think we can sign off a budget without knowing the impact on residents.”

Cllr Cole said that some of the figures included in the budget came with no plan or notes.

“Have we really kicked the tyres on some of these numbers?” he queried. “I’m not saying it’s the wrong decision, but I just think we should spend more time on it – take a step back and go through it again and justify everything we spend.”

The Mayor, Cllr Janet Lloyd, explained the draft budget was normally looked at in December and then when further figures had been received it was in January when the precept was set.

But Cllr Cole said: “We’re talking about a lot of money. We’ll be collecting people’s money and storing it in a piggy bank in case we need it.”

Cllr John Thorne said each committee had discussed its own budget requirements and they were then looked at as a whole by the council’s policy and finance committee on November 18.

“Every councillor could have come along to that meeting,” he said. “I know that Cllr Cole was unable to attend, but the only councillors who were there were the actual committee members.

“So I think it’s out of order that there’s now nit-picking. We spent two-and-a-half hours at the policy and finance meeting going through the budget line by line.”

But Cllr Keith Wheatley said: “We’re taking people’s money away from them and it’s uncertain where we actually need it.

“We’re going through the biggest zone of uncertainty. Somerset Council is going from doing a lot to not doing very much and leaving it to us to pick things up.”

Councillors voted 8-4 in favour of the draft budget with those in opposition being Cllrs Mike McGuffie, Sean Pringle-Kosikowsky, Justin Cole and Keith Wheatley.