RESPONSIBILITY for maintaining church buildings should remain with the parish – not the States. St Peter’s churchwarden Claire Le Pelley said it would be a pity for parishes to lose control of their biggest asset.

‘A very strong message has been conveyed to all States members by Advisory and Finance, by the Policy Council and Treasury and Resources, that States money will be increasingly tightly controlled and I don’t imagine that the Environment Department will be able to obtain extra public money easily,’ she said.

Payment of parish rates has been highlighted recently after it emerged that Torteval parishioners could refuse to set one to cover a church repair bill of up to £500,000.

‘The secular rate includes the cemeteries, parish clerks and caretakers, salaries, streetlights, grants to libraries, playground equipment, legal expenses, repairs to parish buildings and so on – all whether or not as individuals we use them.’

A crisis meeting will be held by the douzaines next month to discuss possible alternative ways of meeting parish and church costs.

Fears that the occupier’s rate system could collapse if ratepayers refuse to set a sum to meet extraordinary costs has galvanised Douzaine Council chairman Bill Robilliard to urge members to think of alternative ways of raising the money.

Possible difficulties in obtaining Royal Court permission [the remede] to meet ecclesiastical needs from the occupier’s rate have been mooted and it has been intimated that it could be open to serious challenge that parishioners have to help meet the upkeep of parish churches.

Douzaines have been asked to explore whether there are other avenues for funding and several options for raising revenue in the event that ratepayers refused to pass a remede, including extraordinary repairs.

One option could include looking to the States for financial assistance, because churches could be classed as part of the island’s heritage.

The current situation is that the budgets for parish and church for all parishes are published in the Guernsey Press every spring and ratepayers are invited to meetings to discuss each item. Ratepayers decide what will be charged on the rates – the secular and ecclesiastical – and each November, the refuse rate as well.

The ratepayers are the owners of the churches and this is why they are invited to decide on the published ecclesiastical budget, said Deputy Le Pelley.

‘This practice of setting rates at special parish meetings is very practical and down-to-earth democracy – no bureaucracy involved to add to costs, just straightforward discussion and vote,’ she said.

Deputy Le Pelley wished that more people would take an interest in their parishes and attend meetings.

‘The effect of expenses on parishes with larger populations is much less than it is on ones with relatively few properties. Self-evidently, £1,000 raised on a few hundred homes will impact more heavily than the same sum raised on two or three thousand homes.’