RESIDENTS of Andover will pay the same amount to the town council as in the previous year as councillors have passed the 2022/23 budget.

The Band D rate paid to Andover Town Council will remain at £21.10 for the coming year, despite an alternative budget - which would have reduced this amount by £4.54 - being put on the table.

At a meeting of the council on Tuesday, January 25, members passed the budget as recommended by the officers and the policy and resources committeee.

It stands at £370,077.50, with staffing costs remaining the same, and members choosing to account for a five per cent inflation rate.

The precept set will, however, only raise a total of £361,801.70 and so it was agreed that the remaining balance would be taken from the council’s operational reserves pot.

READ MORE: Recap: Updates at full council as ATC to set 2022/23 budget 

Last week, Cllr David Coole criticised the policy and resources committee of “failing” to make "adequate reductions" to the budget, adding that it “does not reflect value for money”.

He put together an alternative budget for consideration by members, which would have stood at £283,968.00 – £86,109.50 less than the recommended - and seen the Band D precept set at £16.56.

At Tuesday’s meeting, Cllr Coole raised issue with the allocation of earmarked reserves.

Cllr Coole said that only full council can approve earmarked reserves and virements, and claimed that this was not the case in 2021.

However, deputy mayor Cllr Robin Hughes responded, saying that his claims were “wrong”.

“David, stop making it up as you go along”,” he said.

Another point of contention was staff appraisals and staff budget.

Cllr David Coole and Cllr Rebecca Meyer asked that the item be deferred so that all councillors could view the appraisals before agreeing recommendations, claiming that full council should be acting as the staffing committee since this was scrapped.

However, Cllr Robin Hughes added that the council was simply carrying out their legal duty after the “failure” of council members to adequately carry out and record appraisals previously.

Cllr Coole added that full council had not agreed to keep the staffing budget the same, but mayor Cllr Barbara Long argued that this had been done, at the council’s in December meeting.

Cllr Coole was outvoted on both issues, with the majority agreeing to changes to earmarked reserves that brought the pot to a total of £292,555.05, and to passing recommended staff salary scales.

SEE ALSO: Battle of the budgets at Andover Town Council

This effectively rendered the alternative budget invalid. When the meeting reached the point of discussion on the budget, Cllr Coole said that members had “sabotaged” his alternative budget by their previous votes.

“Congratulations to all who want Andover residents to pay more than they have to,” he said.

The recommended budget went through by seven votes to four with one abstention, and the precept followed by the same ratio.

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