Charter Trustees for Taunton
The Charter Trustees for Taunton were the 16 Somerset West and Taunton councillors elected to represent wards in the unparished area of Taunton which has no town or parish council of its own.
The Trustees elected a Mayor and Deputy Mayor for Taunton each year. The Mayor and Deputy upheld the traditional roles previously carried out by the Mayor and Deputy Mayor of Taunton Deane within the boundary of the unparished area. They were separate to the Mayors for Dulverton, Minehead, Watchet and Wellington.
The Charter Trustees and the mayoralty were funded through a local tax, or precept, charged to Council Tax payers in the unparished area of Somerset West and Taunton. The precept was collected by Somerset Council through Council Tax bills.
Charter Trustees only had the power to raise a precept to cover the costs of their administration and the associated costs for the upkeep of the Civic Insignia or ‘Silver’ and the Mayoralty of Taunton. They could not legally precept for taking on responsibilities and costs that Parish and Town Councils can such as grass cutting and public conveniences.
The Charter Trustees set their first precept for 2020/21 at £51,140 or £3.34 on a Band D property at their meeting on 23 January 2020. The minutes and papers for their meetings are accessible on our website.
