A town council could raise tax to provide more for its residents after delivering the "bare minimum" for years.

Members of Oakham Town Council's finance committee met on Wednesday (October 28) to discuss a provisional budget for the financial year spanning 2027/28.

After delivering the budget, the council clerk outlined a choice for members between carrying on as they are or spending more on their residents.

"You need to make a decision," the clerk told the committee. "Do you carry on providing the bare minimum or do you make a difference by hosting more events and offering more community support, both of which would require precepts to go up?"

While agreeing the council had not delivered enough, the committee was split over whether to raise precepts – its share of the council tax bill – without a concrete plan of where the money would be spent.

"I have a suspicion that if we put council tax up by as much as a halfpenny without a plan, we are in such disrepute with the people of Oakham that there would be an outcry," Cllr John Harris said.

"I don't think we should ask for anything unless we can actually commit to doing something for the residents. We have to demonstrate that we are giving them value for money.

"The message in the streets is always negative. We don't represent ourselves in a positive manner, but if by the end of 12 months starting from April next year, we have demonstrated we can deliver for residents, then maybe they'll accept us asking for more."

Earlier this month, Oakham Town Council advertised two new administrative staff roles to the frustration of some residents, who believed the council was "cash poor" since it had failed to provide enough for the town.

The clerk advised committee members that despite residents' misgivings, the additional staff would be necessary to offer the type and number of civic provisions it aspired to deliver, including hosting more events.

The consensus was Oakham Town Council should not raise its share of council tax by more than 5 per cent, since Rutland County Council cannot raise council tax beyond 4.99 per cent without holding a referendum.

Members generally accepted its necessity, although committee chairman Ben Callaghan suggested council communication was of higher importance.

"To me the percentage is irrelevant as it depends on what base you're starting from," he said. "If you're starting from a low base, to get the amount you want then the percentage is going to be high. For me it's about the message that we put out.

"I don't think people understand what we stand for nor what we represent. There's a lot about OTC that we don't shout about when we need to, which is why a new communications officer will help.

"People think we just sit about and argue and that's it but really we're managing an estate. We need to be more positive."

The committee agreed to read the budget in greater detail before reconvening in November to amend the document before formal approval.