It is a requirement for Dorset & Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Authority to set a level of revenue budget and council tax before the start of the forthcoming financial year.
At its budget setting meeting on 9 February 2017, the Authority approved a total net budget requirement of £53.735m to run Dorset & Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service for the year 2017/18:
| 2017-18 | 2016-17 | |||
| Pay | £39.4m | 70% | £39.7m | 69% |
| Pensions | £1.3m | 2% | £1.3m | 2% |
| Other employee costs | £1.6m | 3% | £1.4m | 3% |
| Premises | £3.0m | 5% | £2.9m | 5% |
| Transport | £1.6m | 3% | £1.7m | 3% |
| Supplies and services | £4.4m | 8% | £4.8m | 8% |
| Agency and contracted out services | £2.4m | 4% | £2.2m | 4% |
| Capital financing/other | £2.9m | 5% | £3.2m | 6% |
| Spending on services | £56.6m | 100% | £57.2m | 100% |
| Income/Reserves | -£2.9m | -£2.4m | ||
| Amount to be financed | £53.7m | £54.8m |
This is funded as shown below:
| Fire precepts | £38.0m | 71% | £37.2m | 68% |
| Revenue Support Grant | £5.9m | 11% | £8.0m | 14% |
| Business Rates/Top-up Grant | £9.8m | 18% | £9.6m | 18% |
| Total financing | £53.7m | 100% | £54.8m | 100% |
How our budget requirement has changed:
| £’000 | |
| Budget Requirement in 2016/17 | 54.815m |
| One off items in 2016/17 budget | -2.883m |
| Pay and price inflation | 0.756m |
| One off transitional costs | 0.968m |
| Efficiency plan savings | -0.379m |
| Apprenticeship levy | 0.150m |
| Business rates | 0.136m |
| Other changes | 0.172m |
| Budget Requirement in 2017/18 | 53.735m |
Fire precept bands
Residents pay for their Fire & Rescue Service as part of their council tax bill, and the fire precept element of the bill for a Band D property in 2017/18 is as follows:
| Band A | Band B | Band C | Band D | Band E | Band F | Band G | Band H |
| £47.06 | £54.90 | £62.75 | £70.59 | £86.28 | £101.96 | £117.65 | £141.18 |
Spending on major capital projects
The Authority’s programme for 2017/18 totals £11.2m. £3.3m of the programme is supported by funding from the Transformation Fund and matched funding from the Authority, and is being used to support the combination and help build a new Safety Centre in the Wiltshire area. Other expenditure includes £1.4m on improvements to fire stations and other buildings, £5.2m for replacement vehicles and associated equipment and £1.3m for new or replacement equipment and Information systems.