COUNCILLORS at Wellington Town Council have been told that they must get more savvy when it comes to setting budgets.

The authority is taking over more services and amenities from cash-strapped Somerset Council and even more work will be coming down the line.

But that means more money, resources and staff will be required and the pile of work in town clerk Dave Farrow’s in-tray will be rocketing.

And Mr Farrow told members of the council’s economic development committee on September 11 that councillors need to be far stricter when budgeting in future years.

“The days of when a councillor can walk in half way through the year with an idea and wanting to spend money on it are gone I’m afraid to say,” he said. “We have got to be a lot more tighter with the budget process and how we set it.

“We have to be much clearer with our aspirations when it comes to looking at the budget.”

Officers are already looking ahead to the budget for the 2025-26 financial year which will again be under pressure as the town council takes on more services and functions from Somerset Council which is in the midst of a financial emergency.

Mr Farrow is suggesting that councillors email him with their ideas on a project initiation form which can then be collated and looked at in more detail.

But the Mayor, Cllr Janet Lloyd, said: “Why do councillors have to email in ideas – why can’t they just bring them up in committees?”

Cllr John Thorne responded by saying that the ideas need to be given to the council officers in advance, so that they can then be put on the relevant committee agenda for discussion.

But Cllr Lloyd, still not convinced that troubling officers with endless emails was the right way to go, said: “We don’t really want 15 councillors all emailing into the office with bright ideas.”

And Cllr Thorne, picking up on the “bright ideas” comment, quipped “that’s unlikely” in reference to whether all councillors could come up with exciting suggestions.

Mr Farrow again pushed home the serious message about budgets at the council’s community committee meeting on September 16.

“We need to go through the budget with a fine tooth comb,” he said. “But if councillors have got ideas, fill in a form and send them into us.”

But Cllr Justin Cole, a voice of reason, added: “You can’t plan ahead for every eventuality and not everything is planned.”

Cllr Mike McGuffie, speaking at the council’s environment committee on September 18, said that getting as many ideas as possible into the officers would provide a good “brainstorming session.”

Mr Farrow said: “Every budget line has to be reviewed and we need clear plans and clear costs although not everything might be done to the nth degree.”

Councillors will start looking at the budget for 2025-26 in the next month or so with a final setting taking place in the early part of the New Year.