This page details the income and expenditure of the Parish Council and explains how the finances are managed.
How we manage the finances
We aim to manage the Parish Council finances in a responsible, transparent and financially prudent way. We have adopted the following model regulations to guide us (last reviewed 9 May 2023):
We create a budget at the beginning of each financial year, based on our expected income and planned expenditure. It is not permitted for a Parish Council to run a deficit, so careful management of our finances is critical.
Councillors discuss and agree planned expenditure for the year, based on input from the community. It is permitted to hold reserves allocated to specific projects, but the aim is to ensure we have enough to cover regular and anticipated exceptional expense without building substantial unallocated reserves. It is not a precise science, which is why guidance suggests holding an amount equivalent to half the precept as a buffer.
Details of all financial transactions in a given month are published as a standing item of the agenda for each Parish Council meeting (under Financial Administration). These transactions are used to calculate performance versus budget on a monthly basis. This information is also published as part of the monthly meeting pack.
Any expenditure has to be approved by the Parish Council and requires two councillors to provide authorisation before payment can be made.
In addition to the information published on this website, details of our finances may be inspected on request, including our bank statements. Additionally, our accounts are subject to an annual audit, the results of which can be found on the Reports page.
Budget
Planned income and expenditure is summarised in our latest budget statement:
Budgets for previous years are shown below:
Assets
Lighthorne Parish Council has the following assets (last reviewed 9 May 2023):
Asset registers for previous years are shown below:
Income
The work of the Parish Council is funded by three main sources of income:
- A portion of Council Tax, known as the precept.
- Rent from the Pavilion Cafe.
- Grants and other contributions.
The Precept
Each year, the Parish Council submits a request for a precept from Stratford District Council. This amount is paid by all council tax payers in the parish according to the council tax band of their dwelling.
Rent from the Pavilion Cafe
As well as providing useful community amenity, the success of the Pavilion Cafe generates significant income for the Parish Council. The ongoing success of the business also significantly reduces the liability on the Parish Council for the upkeep and maintenance of the building.
Grants and other contributions
We are constantly on the lookout for grants from various sources to pay for specific projects, and occasionally we may receive funds as a consequence of development activity.
Expenditure
There are a number of regular outgoings such as payment for the Clerk, for grass cutting, electricity for street lighting, subscriptions and grants. Exceptional payments come up from time to time, some of which may be covered by grants.