All five town councils in the district have now set their budgets for the next financial year. Ed Mezzetti takes a look at how what you pay depends on where you live

TROWBRIDGE is once again the most expensive west Wiltshire town when it comes to council tax but Westbury has resumed its status as the cheapest.

From April the average Band D household in the county town will pay over £20 more per year than the equivalent in Melksham, which comes second in the league table.

Westbury shot up to number two in the rankings last year when councillors controversially voted to take on the Laverton Hall.

But now the one-off £100,000 has been paid, Westbury will edge ahead of Warminster in the value stakes.

In Trowbridge, councillors voted for a 15.3 per cent overall budget increase from £701,639 to £809,498. This will see the average household pay an extra 19p a week excluding the charge levied on residents for the town museum.

Town councillor Bob Brice said: "All the money that we collect is used for Trowbridge. Wiltshire County Council takes £854 from the taxpayers of this town and very little of that comes back to us.

"Everything that comes from taxation to the town council goes back into the town and is used for the town. An increase of 19p a week isn't much.

"I'm a pensioner in this town, that is my only income and I don't object to paying that 19p a week. I don't object to putting something back into my town."

Bradford on Avon Town Council finds itself sandwiched in mid-table with a 3.3 per cent overall increase in its budget to £241,028.

Of this figure £23,414 will be spent on developing its St Margaret's Hall base and £27,000 on a footbridge to the proposed Kingston Mill development.

Melksham Town Council hoped to keep its budget increase to seven per cent, but members said an administrative error meant this had to rise to 8.5 per cent.

West Wiltshire District Council originally counted a new development in Bowerhill as part of Melksham, but then switched it to the remit of Melksham Without Parish Council after realising the mistake.

Melksham town clerk John Crook said: "They made an error on the figures quoted last year and we have had to adjust them now, which now means we have got less properties than we did last year, which is quite an abnormal situation.

"It means we have had to spread our costs over fewer properties, which has meant an increase of a further 1.5 per cent."

Melksham's total budget is £336,990 and one third of that will go on administration, which includes salaries.

With Tourist Information Centres under threat across the district, the town council has increased its TIC budget from zero to £10,000 to back the service in Melksham.

Westbury Town Council's budget has been slashed by £40,000 from last year to read just under £250,000. Councillors there also prioritised visitors to the town in agreeing an increase from £1,000 to £10,000 on 'tourism promotion'.

The council's detailed list of costs also indicates that £200 will be spent on civic regalia and £8,000 on floral displays.

An added bonus is that the district council's review of parking charges means the town council will save almost £9,000 in this area in 2005/06.

On the flipside, Warminster Town Council would have to shell out an extra £25,000 to keep its two hours of free parking. Members voted against this in order to keep last year's car parking budget in place.

The overall budget increase of 5.1 per cent takes the figure to £338,777. This includes £51,000 on running the town's CCTV cameras and £31,600 on the Assembly Rooms bar.

These town council precepts will be added to charges from the district and county councils and police and fire authorities to create the final bill that will appear in March.

Town precepts

Trowbridge

Precept £809,498

Band D average £78.31

Average museum charge £13.55

Melksham

Precept £336, 990

Band D average £70.74

Bradford on Avon

Precept £241,028

Band D average £62.39

Warminster

Precept £338,777

Band D average £56.45

Westbury

Precept £249, 547

Band D average £55.47