Rye Town Council has voted to increase its part of the council tax by over ten percent. The decision was made during a five-minute discussion on the council's proposed budget for next year, which was part of a full meeting of the council on Monday, January 27.
Just one councillor contributed to the discussion on the 2025/26 budget along with the mayor and clerk. Cllr Hansen told the meeting of his concerns. "This is a considerable rise in the Rye precept which I recommend with difficulty."
Part of the increase could be attributed to the rise in employer paid national insurance contributions said Mayor Andy Stuart. Clerk Richard Fairhall noted compiling the annual budget was much harder this year because of a lack of information and decision-making elsewhere. "It's based on a lot of assumptions and has been difficult with no confirmed detail and a lot of uncertainty."
While the Rye Town Council part of the council tax is the second smallest amount of the annual charge, the increase is by far the largest in percentage terms. It will rise from £130.83 per year for a band D council tax payer to an estimated £144.33 - a difference of £13.50 (26p a week) or 10.3%. By contrast East Sussex County Council (ESCC) will raise its charge by 4.99% - the maximum allowed for larger authorities. ESCC will vote on the council tax on February 11.
You can read a summary of the draft budget here and an detailed breakdown here. Both on the Rye Town Council website.
Concerns about Rye Town Council's funding were raised elsewhere during a packed agenda at the town hall on Monday. Councillors heard passionate appeals from two local organisations appealing for grants. The Tilling Green Residents Association hope to put up notice boards and a welcome sign and Rye Harbour Sailability is buying a wheelchair-friendly boat.
The meeting heard just £89 was left in the grant budget for this year, however councillors approved finding an extra £500 for each group from elsewhere, and were "minded" to find similar amounts from next year's budget. Many councillors spoke during the discussion to praise the work of both organisations. Cllr Rogers told the meeting how he felt Tilling Green had turned a corner. "I grew up there and went to school there. It used to be a fantastic place and it's definitely coming back."
Rye Town Councillors also praised the work of Rye Chamber of Commerce in trying to find a solution to funding Rye's public toilets. They agreed to make representations to Rother District Council (RDC) following news that levelling up funds would not now be used to upgrade the toilets near the station because of delays in decision-making ahead of a March deadline. Richard Fairhall told the meeting he was waiting to see whether any companies had expressed an interest to RDC to run Rye's public toilets as a cafe or bar - adverts were placed in December.
Local government reorganisation was also discussed, along with concerns over cars parking on pavements and more worries about potholes. In an update from ESCC leader, Keith Glazier, councillors were told people should keep reporting damage to local roads. "There is a huge cost to the repairs - £1.2million was spent mending Pett Level Road - but let the council know about any potholes, especially the ones not on A and B roads."
