2026-27 Budget
Frome Town Council are inviting all Frome residents to consider and guide our priorities for the 2027-28 budget.
As a town council, we aim to use taxpayer money responsibly and effectively - looking for opportunities to make a big impact on the things that matter most for our community. We would like to know how you would balance those priorities, and if you think the impact we have is worth the portion of council tax that goes to FTC.
It takes 5-10 minutes to have your say through a survey and interactive budgeting activity, or longer if you have the time to take a deeper look at last year's budget and annual report.
Ways to take part
There are 2 parts for you to complete. Please scroll down for the interactive budgeting exercise. Once you've completed that, please also take the Priorities & Value survey:
Introduction from Cllr Fiona Barrows, Leader of Frome Town Council
"This is the first time we’ve used My Frome to involve residents directly in shaping our budget, and it’s very much a starting point. We want to learn from what you tell us - both about the budget itself and about how we involve you in these decisions."
"Next year, we hope to build on this with a much wider conversation about the choices and priorities behind our budget. For now, please take a few minutes to have your say, either here or by coming along to one of our meetings where anyone is welcome to speak.”
Where our money comes from
Around 80% of Frome Town Council's income comes from the precept - the amount we receive from council tax. The remaining 20% is made up of several things including: external funding/grants, rent and hire of spaces we own, and bank interest.
The budgeted precept amount for the 2026-27 financial year was £3,023,126. For the 76% of Frome households that are in Band A-C, the total weekly cost paid to Frome Town Council via their council tax bill was an average of £4.72.
Just 12% of a household's total council tax payment goes to Frome Town Council.
We can also use money from:
- General Reserves - money kept aside for unplanned and emergency expenditure. Our general reserves at the beginning of the 2026-27 financial year were around £610k.
- Earmarked Reserves (EMRs) - money kept aside for specific projects. For example, we put aside £3k each year towards the cost of council elections which typically happen every 4 years.
How we spend it
The chart below shows how Frome Town Council spent its budget this year. Some of the costs are fixed and essential, such as essential business services, salaries and loan repayments. Other costs are flexible. In the activity below we have included the areas of spending with room to spend more or less depending on the needs and wishes of the community.
Phases
How would you spend the FTC budget?
Use the activity below to let us know how you would spread spending across different areas of work. You can click on each one to learn more about what it includes.
Frome Town Council supports all of the areas below, and deciding how much to spend on each is a challenge we undertake with care each year. We consider what the needs and wishes of the community are, where immediate action is needed, how we can have the biggest long-term impacts, and where we might need to step in to help fill gaps left by cuts at a county or national level.
The results of this activity will be shared at a future council meeting and considered as part of the budget-setting process.
Please note there are a lot of things we don't and can't control as a town council, as these are the responsibility of Somerset Council. This includes:
- Education
- Adult and children's social care
- Housing services
- Planning decisions
- Roads and highways (including potholes, streetlights and drains)
- Parking
- Waste and recycling
- Libraries
- Leisure centres
- Elections and council tax (except the amount of your council tax bill that goes to Frome Town Council)
Upcoming and ongoing events in this phase
- 10Oct
Chat to your town councillors about the budget
- 11Nov
Frome Town Council Meeting
Cast your vote
How to vote
- Select your preferred options by tapping on "Select".
- You can add a maximum of 100% per option.
- Once you are done, click “Submit” to cast your vote.
Your vote may be submitted until 16 November 2026.
Events
Upcoming and ongoing events
Event date: October 10th, 2026 from 09:00 to 11:00.
Frome Weekly Market
