Agenda item

Budget 2017/18

Minutes:

The Board was given an opportunity to consider and comment upon the draft Revenue and Capital Budget 2017/18 to 2021/22. The Leader of the Council, the Director for Strategy and Governance, the Chief Finance Officer and the Corporate Accountancy Team Leader answered members’ questions in connection with the report.

 

The Board discussed in detail the proposed property investment proposals which  formed a part of the Council’s budget and the Medium Term Financial Strategy. The Board expressed concern that the Budget Scrutiny and Policy Development Panel had not been consulted on these proposals and that insufficient time and information had been given for members of the Board or other Councillors to give proper consideration to these proposals. The Leader of the Council offered a number of options to the Board including:

 

(i)               holding a seminar; and

(ii)             rearranging the Cabinet timetable

 

to enable the Board to scrutinise these proposals prior to the Council meeting and/or all Councillors to consider the proposals and submit comments to the Cabinet via the Scrutiny Board Chairman and the Scrutiny Lead for the Budget Scrutiny and Policy Development Panel prior to the Council to be held on 22 February 2017.

 

The Chairman requested that a briefing paper on the property investment proposals be circulated to all Councillors, to allow all members the opportunity to comment and submit concerns to the Scrutiny Board Chairman and the Scrutiny Lead of the Budget Scrutiny and Policy Development Panel to raise these concerns at Cabinet.

 

The following points were also raised during the course of the discussion:

 

1.               it was not proposed to increase the fee for removal of rats and mice in 2017/18;

 

2.               if the Council did not include the property investments proposals within the 2017/18 budget the shortfall could be met from using General Funds;

 

3.               a failure to agree to the investment proposals would have detrimental impact on the Council in the long term which could only be avoided by making efficiencies and cuts and/or a rise in Council tax;

 

4.               the Council did not accept an offer from the Government for a four year grant settlement as this would have required the Council to increase Council tax contrary to its policy and for the Council to publish information which would have a detrimental impact on the Council’s competitiveness;

 

5.               paragraph 5.2 of the submitted report should be amended by the deletion of the words “and an increase in”;

 

6.               Appendix A of the submitted report was correct; and

 

7            the Business rate figures set out in Appendices A and D were correct; Appendix D of the submitted would be amended to clarify the reasons for the difference between the two figures in these appendices.

 

RESOLVED that

 

(A)         That the Cabinet be requested to recommend to Council:

 

              (a)         The proposed Revenue & Capital Budgets for 2017/18, including a Council Tax rate of £192.78 at Band D, representing a 0% increase on the current charge and continuing the Council’s freeze on its portion of the Council Tax since 2009/10.

 

              (b)         The Treasury Management Strategy and Prudential indicators, and the Prices for Services subject to (i) to (iv) below,

 

              Subject to:

 

              (i)           paragraph 2.9 of Appendix E of the submitted report being amended to require the approval of the Cabinet on all property purchases and to provide clarification on how much may be invested in this scheme any one year;

 

              (ii):         the questions attached as Appendix A to these minutes being referred to the relevant Heads of Services to provide the answers to these questions to all members of the Scrutiny Board;

 

              (iii)         a briefing paper on the property investment proposals being sent to all Councillors to enable these Councillors to submit their concerns to the Chairman of the Scrutiny Board and Scrutiny Lead for the Budget Scrutiny and Policy Development Panel prior to the Cabinet Meeting to be held on 8 February 2017; and

 

              (iv)         the Chairman of the Scrutiny Board and the Scrutiny Lead for the Budget Scrutiny and Policy Development Panel being given an opportunity to present the comments received in response to (iii) above to the meeting of the Cabinet to be held on 8 February and/or the Chairman of the Scrutiny Board calling in the property investment proposals for scrutiny with the intention of presenting the findings of this scrutiny to Council on 22 February 2017.

 

(B)         That the Cabinet be requested to ensure that in future years the Budget Scrutiny and Policy Development Panel be given ample opportunity to consider the budget prior to finalisation of the draft proposals

Supporting documents: