*HC83
Members were presented with a report that outlined
the impact on the Council’s Budget following the lockdown
caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.
The Lead Member introduced the monitoring report
which was the first since the outbreak of the pandemic. It was confirmed that there would be monthly
reporting to Members going forward with an amended budget to be
brought to Council in September. When
questioned, it was confirmed that regular meetings of the Financial
Stability Review Group would be arranged once the definitive
financial announcement had been received from Central
Government.
Members were informed that the financial accounts
were nearly completed for 2019/20, with a report presenting the
accounts to be brought to the Audit Committee in July. Also, a Member Budget Setting workshop would be
set up during August and would follow the same format as previous
years. It was then intended that a
draft amended Budget for 2020/21 would then be
presented to the Overview &
Scrutiny Committee meeting to be held on 1 September, on to the Hub
Committee meeting to be held on 15 September, and then on to
Council for ultimate approval at its meeting to be held on 22
September.
Cllr Edmonds moved the recommendations on block and
these were seconded by Cllr Mott.
It was then unanimously RESOLVED that:-
i)
the significant
forecast income and expenditure variations for the 2020/21
financial year and the overall projected overspend of £1.028
million (14.3% of the total Budget £7.212 million) be
noted.
ii)
the loss of income
streams already experienced by the Council in April 2020 and May
2020 of £0.371 million in total as shown in Section 6 of the
presented agenda report be noted.
iii)
an Amended Budget for
2020/21 be presented to the September cycle of Committee meetings,
setting out recommendations as to how the projected losses could be
financed and what action could be taken. This is in order to
achieve a balanced budget for 2020/21, in light of the Covid 19 pandemic.
iv) a comprehensive review be undertaken
into all of the Council’s Earmarked Reserves.
(NOTE: THESE DECISIONS WILL BECOME EFFECTIVE
FROM
WEDNESDAY 8 JULY 2020
UNLESS CALLED IN, IN ACCORDANCE WITH
SCRUTINY PROCEDURE RULE 18).