A TROUBLED parish council has set the amount it wants from the public next year at £81,650.

Concerns were raised at a public meeting after Thornaby Parish Council revealed that nearly half of next year's budget will be spent on administration.

However, the council, which met at Thornaby Town Hall on Monday night, was able to reduce the amount of money it wants from taxpayers from £85,000 the previous year.

It was able to make the reduction because it had £67,000 in its reserves, but half of that has been allocated for schemes.

That left just under £36,000, of which £17,500 will be put towards next year's planned budget of £99,150. The rest will be added to the reserves, to be used in case of unanticipated elections or other emergencies.

The amount of money being left in the reserves led to criticism from members of the public who attended the meeting.

They asked why the money was being kept in a bank when it could be used to reduce the bill facing residents.

However, several councillors, including Councillor Ivor Morgan, said all councils had to keep money in reserve.

He said: "An election can cost up to £10,000 and if anybody objects to co-opting a member, you have to hold an election.

"What if you get two in quick succession, as has happened here? It is still a feather in the cap of the council to have a precept below that of last year."

Coun Morgan had earlier raised concerns about the cost of the authority's photocopier, which has cost taxpayers £6,145 in the past nine months. The council said much of that money was spent on hire costs.

The council has been in turmoil in the past year.

Allegations dating from March last year are still being investigated by the Standards Board of England and Wales.

A number of accusations have been made that some councillors used town council equipment to print political literature.

The authority's precept will be added to the overall bill for Stockton Borough Council taxpayers in Thornaby