An early issue for the new Rusthall Parish Council

As part of the arrangements for the new Rusthall Parish Council it has been agreed by Tunbridge Wells Borough Council that the latter will make available a loan of £40,000 to tide the former over the first year of operation.  The reason for this provision is that no parish precept could be raised prior to the parish council being formed.

The problem is that at the end of the first year the parish council either has to pay back all or a proportion of the £40,000.  Any outstanding sum will have to be repaid with interest at, to quote a borough council document, a rate to be agreed.

How will the parish council approach this matter? One solution is to raise income through next year's parish precept to pay back the whole loan, and save on interest payments. However, the key element will be how much the parish council decides to spend  of the £40,000.  Should it spend as little as possible in the first year of operation and thereby reduce the amount to  be raised in future years?  Or should it blow the lot and saddle the parishioners with a huge precept in 2012? Or should it negotiate for repayment over a number of years along with the concomitant interest?

One candidate has pledged to campaign for the re-opening of the public toilets or building new ones. The Village Association's newsletter states that we will have at the very least a  part-time paid parish clerk. Could be that there won't be much of the £40,000 left at the end of the first year.