NOW is the time that all councils are setting their budget for next year, which in turn will decide the amount of Council Tax that everyone in towns and villages in Somerset will pay.

This year these figures will be hugely influenced by the rising cost of living. If you look at the extra cost of your home energy costs and then go bigger you will see why all councils are struggling to make the numbers work.

In Chard Town Council the cost of electricity and gas has gone from £10,000 to a potential £25,000 but in the new Unitary Council the costs are huge, current electricity costs for street lighting alone are in the millions and the new council will inherit all the buildings which currently are owned by all four districts as well as those in their current portfolio.

When we stood for election in May who would have thought that we would be making such huge decisions on spending just a few months later with inflation currently running at 10 per cent.

The new council will run all services from adult and children’s social care to roads and planning.

We will be asked to decide what is most important to put money into and there is no doubt that we have to consider our environment in all our choices.

We have a duty to the most vulnerable in our society and we must plan for the future. The choices we make in the next two months will be thoroughly thought out but some of our current plans may have to be stalled.

There is a huge amount of work between now and April 1 to make sure that the new Unitary Council will be able to function on day one.

We have just merged South Somerset District Council’s email system into the county one and we hit many bumps, to put it mildly.

Many councillors emails were not working for nearly two weeks and we all had to take our devices to Yeovil to be reset. Everything we do will have to be integrated so I don’t foresee a problem-free transition.

On a more local level, the new signs at Thorndun park drive and Northover Drive have been replaced and I am working on the pavement which is supposed to be installed along the new development at Crimchard.

This is causing parents of young families problems walking along the road to get into the town or to school.

The pavement is in the planning application and I am in contact with both the planning officers and the design team at the county council regarding the installation.

I am told It is waiting for plans to be approved at county level, but be assured I will be chasing this up regularly. Touches lane is still on my hit list….. as always.

Written by Cllr Jenny Kenton