Melksham Town Council passes 13.79% precept increase – Legal and settlement costs impact budget

Melksham Town Council has approved a 13.79% increase in its precept—the portion of council tax paid by residents to fund the town council’s services—for the 2025/26 budget.

The decision was made during a four-hour discussion at the full town council meeting on Monday 6th January. For a Band D household, this equates to a rise of approximately 47p per week.

Melksham News understands the council incurred significant costs in 2024 relating to settlement payments to former staff and associated legal fees, totalling over £100,000. When questioned at the start of the meeting, the council declined to confirm these figures, citing legal constraints that prevent discussion of the matter. Melksham News understands that these payments have had a direct impact on this year’s budget, with the council needing to find ways to offset the additional costs.

Additionally, the council’s reserves were reported to be over £200,000 below the recommended level, putting further pressure on finances.

Initially, a 16% precept increase was proposed. However, in the meeting councillors extensively debated ways to reduce the financial burden on residents.

Cllr Phil Alford suggested removing unspent funds allocated to community projects, including the proposed BMX track. Cllr Jon Hubbard opposed this, warning that once such funds were removed, they could not be reinstated.

“That money doesn’t just reappear next year,” Cllr Hubbard said. “You’ve spent it—it’s gone. So there will be no BMX track, and we take away that promise we gave to our community.”

Cllr Graham Ellis proposed a 25% precept increase to “correct several years of underfunding.” However, this was rejected by nine councillors.

Further discussions focused on reallocating funds to minimise the precept rise. Cllr Jennie Westbrook suggested funding events, such as the mayor’s civic events and Proms in the Park, from the solar farm fund—a community grant from the Sandridge Solar Farm agreement.

“We hopefully all agree our events benefit the community,” said Cllr Jennie Westbrook. “I think the solar farm money is the right thing for us to use for things like our events.”

Ultimately, councillors agreed to draw £25,000 from earmarked reserves, reducing the precept increase to 13.79%. This proposal allows the BMX track and planned events to proceed.

Cllr Tom Price called the final motion “the right thing to do,” adding, “We are now looking at a fair and reasonable raise while delivering all events and the BMX track, which I’m very passionate about. We are not doing a disservice to our residents, and I wholeheartedly support this motion.”

In a statement about the settlement payments, the council said, “We acknowledge the public’s interest in how public funds are spent, and we are committed to transparency within the bounds of legal and ethical obligations. Any financial settlements, if made, are carefully considered and based on expert advice to protect the council and the public purse from potentially higher costs, including prolonged litigation.

“It is important to note that all council expenditures are subject to rigorous scrutiny through independent audit processes and are published in accordance with statutory financial reporting standards.”

Pictured: Melksham Town Hall