THE parish precept for Looe is to rise by 15.3 per cent, an increase which the town council says it regrets.
Mr Don Webb, chairman of the finance committee which made the recommendation, says the increase should have been substantially higher to cover expenditure for the current year, but they were mindful of the needs of the community during a difficult time for many.
The precept, which was set at the last town council meeting at £57,925, shows an increase of £7,675, however, this will not be enough to cover costs, and expenditure will substantially eat into the council's financial reserve.
The council says this is due to two factors, which is their policy on donations to other bodies, and the unexpectedly high cost of installing and commissioning the new 'Visit' system in the Tourist Information Centre, which has exceeded £10,000.
The council says that in an effort to recoup this amount, various items on the budget have had to be severely curtailed, but even such radical pruning has not been sufficient to keep the precept increase as low as the council would have wished.
Mr Webb says the council has also had to make some provision for the ideas of CCTV and the private hiring of an extra constable at weekends, in an effort to curtail vandalism and other disturbances in the streets.