Agenda item

Budget Proposals for 2019/20 onwards update report

Minutes:

E.71/18           

Members were presented with a report that set out the budget proposals for a balanced budget for 2019/20.  The Council was currently forecasting a budget gap of £0.47 million for 2020/21.

 

The Leader introduced the report and stated that all Members had the opportunity to input into the process at the Joint Overview and Scrutiny Panel and Development Management Committee meeting held on 24 January 2019.

 

During discussion, one Member raised that surplus New Homes Bonus Funds should be invested back into areas of the community that needed social and affordable housing.  In response, the Leader advised that he expected a report to be forthcoming to the next meeting of the Executive in March 2019 that related to housing projects.

 

Members then agreed that the letter written by the Leader to Ministers in respect of the council tax loophole was excellent.  The Deputy Leader advised that copies had been sent to the MPs and the Housing Minister and would be followed up.  One Member felt that the Council could go further and support a proposal to double council tax on second homes.

 

It was then:

 

RESOLVED

 

That Council be RECOMMENDED:

 

(i)     To increase Council Tax by £5 for 2019/20 (which equates to a Band D council tax of £165.42 for 2019/20, an increase of £5 per year or 10 pence per week – as shown in paragraph 3.4 of the presented agenda report). This equates to a Council Tax Requirement of £6,315,689;

 

(ii)  To approve the financial pressures shown in Appendix A of the presented agenda report (amounting to £1,383,700);

 

(iii)  To approve the net contributions to/from Earmarked Reserves of £714,300 as per Appendix E of the presented agenda report;

 

(iv)  To approve the proposed savings of £1,067,226 for 2019/20 as shown in Appendix A of the presented agenda report;

 

(v)  To approve the proposed use of £500,000 of New Homes Bonus funding to balance the 2019/20 Revenue Budget as shown in Appendix E of the presented agenda report;

   

(vi) To agree the Collection Fund Surplus of £112,000 as shown in Appendix B of the presented agenda report;

 

(vii)           To delegate to the S151 Officer, in consultation with the Leader and Executive Member for Finance, to agree the final amount of New Homes Bonus funding for the Dartmoor National Park Sustainable Community Fund for 2019/20;

 

(viii)   That the Council Tax Support Grant paid to Town and Parish Councils is reduced by 9.85% for 2019/20 as per Appendix A of the presented agenda report. This equates to a payment of £74,473 for 2019/20;

 

(ix)    That the Council should set its total net expenditure for 2019/20 as shown in Appendix B of the presented agenda report as £8,832,752;

 

(x)  That the minimum level of the Unearmarked Revenue Reserves is maintained at £1.5 million as per Section 10 of the presented agenda report; and

 

(xi)    That the level of reserves as set out within the presented agenda report and the assessment of their adequacy and the robustness of budget estimates are noted. This is a requirement of Part 2 of the Local Government Act 2003.

 

 

 

Supporting documents: