Baildon Town Council derives its income from multiple sources. The main source is what is known as the "precept". The precept is a designated part of the Council Tax, which is collected by Bradford Council on behalf of the Town Council, at the same time as the main Council Tax and the precepts for the Police and Fire services. These precepts are set out on the Council Tax bill. Once collected, the Town Council's precept is given to the Town Council for it to control. Each year, the precept is calculated by dividing the total amount of money needed in the Town Council's budget by the "Council Tax Base". The Council Tax Base is basically the number of Council Tax "Band D-equivalent" houses in Baildon but there are various technical adjustments made to this number. As with the main Council Tax, the precept is the lowest for Band A properties (the smallest houses) and highest for Band H properties (the largest houses).

The Town Council agreed its 2020/21 budget at the meeting of Full Council in December 2019. The resulting precept was incorporated into the Bradford district calculations, which were agreed in late February by Bradford Council. Council Tax bills will be issued by Bradford Council in advance of 1 April, when the new budgets will come into effect.

Baildon Town Council has decided to increase this year's precept by a small amount. This will mean a Band-D household precept of £48.83, compared with £45.00 for a Band D in 2019/20. The five main reasons for the increase are firstly, for the protection of youth services in Baildon, which are at risk of being cut and could result in the closure of the open-access senior youth club unless the Town Council takes action. Secondly, in response to demonstrated need, the Town Council will be funding a new community bus service, which will provide links to Baildon railway station, Baildon Village, Higher Coach Road and Shipley Town Centre. Thirdly, there are ongoing costs and uncertainties about the Ian Clough Hall, Library and Children's Centre buildings, for which provision has been made. Fourthly, there have needed to be changes to staffing arrangements. Finally, in the past, local authorities received grants from the Government, known as Council Tax Support. These grants have now been completely cut and so the money has had to be replaced.

The Town Council is aware that increases in Council Tax are not always welcome but hopes that residents are supportive of the work that the council does and recognise that the charge remains less than £1 a week for the average household.

Cllr Joe Ashton, Chair of Council