To receive a Budget Statement from the Leader of the Council, to consider the following reports of the Director of Resources (copies enclosed) and to determine the level of Council Tax.
Minutes:
The Council considered the reports of the Interim Director of Resources on the recommendations of the Finance and Corporate Services Committee at its meeting on 31 January 2017 relating to the revenue budget and the proposed level of Council Tax for 2017 / 18.
The Leader of the Council made a Budget speech (attached at APPENDIX 1 to these Minutes).
Councillor D M Sismey, Chairman of the Finance and Corporate Services Committee referred to the need for Central Government to reduce its costs and how the Council had made significant reductions to the back office whilst maintaining front office services. He commented on the Councils prudent financial management and the hard work of Officers. Councillor Sismey then commended the budget to the Council.
In response to the Budget Speech, the Leader of the Opposition, Councillor B S Beale, thanked the Leader of the Council for providing him with a copy of her speech in advance. He referred to a number of areas including:
· Budget – He commented on the need for more from less, the importance of concentrating on those matters which the Council could influence and the reduction in Government support.
· Promoting businesses – Councillor Beale referred to the importance of promoting businesses into the District and how Members should assist Officers with this.
· Referring specifically to contracts and their implications he advised that better control was required along with better understanding.
· He felt that the current paperless arrangements for meetings needed to be reconsidered, particularly for meetings of the Council.
· Councillor Beale asked the Leader of the Council what protection the Council had against cyber-attack and if she felt that waste service operatives were doing a good job, making particular reference to damage to waste containers and the image this portrayed of the Council.
Councillor Beale concluded by referring to the Council’s staff and their importance to the work of the Council.
In response, the Leader of the Council advised that she did feel waste service operatives were doing a good job and referred to the changes brought in by the new contract and how she had not received any complaints regarding it, nor any reports of poor service.
The Interim Director of Resources advised Members that the Budget for 2017 / 18 included figures put out by Government as the provisional finance settlement for 2017 / 18 stage. The Council was waiting for finalisation of these figures which was expected to be received around 20 February. The Director explained it was expected that any change would be marginal as the Council was tied into a four year finance settlement by the Government. On that basis, the impact of any change would be seen in the Council’s reserves and would not affect the bottom line of the budget. Members were advised that the final settlement amount would be reported to the next meeting of the Finance and Corporate Services Committee.
In response to the Leaders’ speech some Members offered further comment on the budget proposals to which the Leader of the Council responded, these included the following:
· The need to strengthen the Councils business rate growth, due to the forthcoming replacement of the rates support grant by business rates retention. Concern was expressed that whilst pilot business rate retention schemes were underway there was no pilot for any two tier authorities.
· Whether the Government’s intention regarding business rates from renewable energy was known.
· It was commented that without strong businesses the District would not have good jobs and the need to support such businesses was reiterated. The Leader of the Council agreed that the Council had to ensure that the District was a place that retained current businesses, assisted them to prosper and attracted new businesses. She referred to the Council’s Economic Prosperity Strategy and the need to develop this further.
· Concern regarding the length of time taken from time of enquiry to receipt of a response from certain areas of the Council.
· The damage to waste bins and the measures put in place by the waste operator to address issues from reoccurring.
· It was pointed out that the changes to paperless meetings had been agreed by the Council and had resulted in large cost savings. The Leader of the Council agreed with this comment but suggested that for Council meetings when dealing with Minutes of Committees that a solution might be to have the Minutes of those Committees available on display (via the projection screen) for the public as the Council went through them.
In response to a question to the Chairman of the Finance and Corporate Services Committee regarding Section 106 monies and whether they were protected and not used to subsidise the budget, Councillor Sismey advised that such monies would not be spent by the Council for its general funds and any such monies paid to the Council would be protected and were not part of the Council’s budget.
It was pointed out that the website profile pages for the Council’s independent Members were incorrectly showing an incorrect party logo. In response, Councillor M S Heard commented on his profile page and requested that reference to ‘non-specific’ be amended to read ‘non-political’.
In response to the comments from Councillor Beale the Leader of the Council advised that the Finance and Corporate Services Committee was due to consider a comprehensive report at its next meeting on contracts and the procurement process as a whole. In respect of cyber-attacks Members were advised of a recent Audit undertaken and that the IT Manager was currently putting in place the recommendations it raised.