Parish Councils are responsible for managing their own budgets and are funded predominantly by an annual payment or precept from the District Council (The Precepting Authority). This payment is collected by Horsham District Council and forms part of your Council Tax bill. The precept collected from Council Tax payments is then paid to Upper Beeding Parish Council in two instalments (April and September).

Upper Beeding Parish Council prepares a budget each year which will cover all necessary expenditure. We can charge for some facilities and services including the hire of the sports hall, advertising in a newsletter or allotment rents. The precept is the difference between the predicted income and expenditure.

Horsham District Council calculates how much each household will pay using the Council Tax system. This produces a listing of all the properties in each Parish, it makes adjustments to account for any discounts that are given, for example, single occupancy, second homes, homes that are empty or exempt. The properties are then translated into band D equivalents and the amount of council tax you pay is calculated using this percentage.

The Financial Year runs from 1 st April to 31 st March. Upper Beeding Parish Council set their budget in December, finalising the precept requirement in January. All meetings are open to the public and residents are welcome to attend and comment on the proposals.

Parish Councils can also apply for other funding such as grants and awards, this type of funding is often used for special projects.

At the end of each year the Parish Council accounts are subject to both internal and external audits.