THERE were heated exchanges in Watchet Town Council Chamber on Monday night as a row erupted over the level at which to set the precept for the next financial year.

Cllr Tony Bowden, chairman of the finance committee, had vowed to slash the precept substantially from last year's £88,000 so ratepayers would not be hit in the pocket.

But after 30 minutes of debate in a fiery atmosphere, his recommendation of £59,787 was snubbed and a new precept of £74,000 was backed by a majority of the council.

The meeting was told by Cllr Bowden that the council had a surplus of around £47,000 earning interest in the bank, but most members did not want to see the budget cut by £30,000.

"I feel that that we are letting the people of Watchet down," said Cllr Bowden after the meeting.

"We have nearly £50,000 that will be left unspent at the end of this financial year and yet councillors in Watchet still want to make our council hoard money like some modern-day Scrooge.

"This precept does nothing for us as a council. I have spent many hours trying to balance the books to enable me to put forward a precept that I felt was in the interest of the community and yet we end up with a figure which is pulled out of the hat."

He added: "I only hope that the councillors who voted for an increase in the precept will face the people who will have to pay for it."

Council chairman Cllr David Banks, who backed Cllr Bowden's level for the precept, said: "We promised that we would set a lower precept this year and I feel that the precept proposed by Cllr Bowden would have enabled us to fund everything we needed to over the coming year without any worries."

Before a decision was taken, he said: "We are still earning interest on the reserves which are not being spent. We have £47,000 in cash laying dormant earning interest for us

"For CCTV we have £8,000 earmarked but we can't get much for £8,000, just a couple of cameras."

Cllr John Richards proposed that the precept be raised to £74,000 because he felt Cllr Bowden's figures would have left the council short.

However, Cllr Bowden said his budget was correct and all the figures accurate.

"There will be a few other bills but nothing substantial as far as I know," he said.

"We have a £47,000 surplus and that is rather a lot. We have got to get our precept into a more manageable state because it is far too high for a council of this size."

Cllr Dave Westcott, who voted for the adjusted £74,000 precept, said: "As a businessman, I know that you can make figures say what you want - and the easiest way to go bankrupt is to starve your business of finance with a cash flow problem."

He said that the budget for the last two years had been high but he did not feel it should be reduced by £30,000.

"I don't think it should be cut by £30,000 because it will stop Watchet Town Council doing things for local people," he said.

After the meeting, Cllr Richards defended his precept proposal, saying a realistic estimate of the council's reserves at the end of the financial year was nearer £20,000 than £47,000.

A £74,000 precept was needed for the council to do a proper job next year and keep £20,000 in its reserves.

"It was one of those meetings where a certain political party wanted to cut our budget in half for bonus points," he said.

"It was an almighty mess."

l Cllr Bowden expressed his annoyance at marina constructors Dean and Dyball's absence from the meeting when bosses were due to brief councillors on the proposed 18 homes earmarked for the East Quay.

Detailed plans were submitted to West Somerset District Council's planning department before Christmas but representatives from Dean and Dyball had promised to meet with Watchet civic leaders beforehand.

Large architect's drawings of the houses were on display in the council chamber on Monday but Cllr Bowden accused the company of snubbing the town.

He said: "This is the second time they have been invited to come to a meeting and the second time they have not been able to talk to us.

"I find it very disturbing that it's one of the biggest things planned in Watchet and over a long period of time and they don't think that local people have the right to talk to them about it. I think this is a big snub."

l The meeting was told that the district council was still working on the lease for the town council for land next to the youth club to be used a skatepark.

However, the district authority's contracts and technical services manager Kelvin Rufus has appointed a firm to carry out surfacing of the land.