Earlier this month Midsomer Norton Town Council considered their budget for the next financial year, which will decide the level of Council Tax residents will be playing in 2022/23. The meeting on November 7 concluded that a Finance Working Party should be established to consider the budget and precept, the findings of which will be taken to the next Full Council meetings in December and January respectively.

However, the meeting did consider a preliminary budget report, detailing some of the most significant expenditure planned for the next financial year. Top of the list was the Public Works Loan repayment, of £48,904, which covers the cost of contributing to the Town Hall transformation. This project is linked to Midsomer Norton's High Street Heritage Action Zone, which is also set to receive £10,000 from Town Council reserves, as it did this financial year.

The Town Council staff, five of them, are all set for a salary increase and other increases in next year's budget include equipment and furniture and the Street Marshals contract. Youth Services were also set to receive an increase in their funding to £32,500, following a grant application from the Community Trust in October,

The one projected decrease detailed in the preliminary budget report concerned the town's newsletter and its delivery, which has decreased by £10k to £4k. While the exact detail of this reduction is not known, it follows the decision to stop funding the Midsomer Norton Life Magazine that was taken by the Finance and Operations Committee in October last year.

Last year the Midsomer Norton budget was £435,495 for 2022/2023 which represented a 3.7% increase on a Band D Council Tax property so £106.50 for a Band D household.