Conseillers approved plans to spend £2.5m. in 2026 – up by £306,000 or 13.98%, intending to finish the year with a £30,000 operating surplus.
The increased costs were driven by the need to spend more than £150,000 on essential works to stabilise La Coupee, increased costs supporting vulnerable islanders and £30,000 on drawing up a strategic Island Plan.
Chairman of the douzaine Conseiller Mike Locke warned Chief Pleas that works on La Coupee would not be completed this year and there would be further costs down the line.
‘More is to come in 2027, we recognised that the douzaine could not do everything to address the problems that we have in one single year,’ he said.
Plans to increase taxation were not passed without some dissent.
Conseiller Sam Keyte, who was only elected to Chief Pleas in September, said he would not be supporting the propositions for direct taxation, which now make up 55% of Chief Pleas’ income.
‘Those who save or invest for their future are asked to pay incrementally more, while those who do not, pay less,’ he said. ‘Responsible behaviour seems to be being penalised.
‘We can’t ignore mobility. Wealthier people can and do move in response to tax policy, and others, including older residents, have told me they fear it could be already cheaper for them to live elsewhere. I worry that we’re in a fragile position with the risk of losing people at both ends of the community.’
The budget for the Island Plan was also criticised. Conseiller Chris Bateson said that he could not support the proposition.
‘I’m not at all happy with the £30,000 that’s being budgeted for the Island Plan, about which I know nothing whatsoever,’ he said. ‘And I believe many of the people in this room know nothing about it either.’
In response Natalie Tighe, the deputy chairwoman of Policy & Finance, said the plan would build on the work of previous plans and earlier consultation exercises, and not having one left the island’s future open for others to shape.
‘The late Steve Taylor, who served as a conseiller, once remarked, when asked to draft an economic development plan that he was only a part-time fisherman and he did not know where to begin,’ she said.
‘His comment serves me as an important reminder that at times, we must recognise the value of seeking specialist help when the task requires expertise beyond what is available.’
P&F chairman John Guille added that Jersey’s public planning department had kindly offered to help with a series of public engagement exercises, which Sark had accepted.
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