71/19
The Council considered a
report that detailed the formal proposals of
the Executive in order to achieve a balanced Budget for
2020/21.
Following an introduction
from the Leader, the Chairman reminded the meeting that two
amendments had been received in accordance with the Budget and
Policy Framework Procedure Rules and these would be considered in
the order that they had been received.
Amendment Number 1 (proposed
by Cllr Birch and seconded by Cllr McKay):
‘That the
Partnership Funding level of £96,647 be increased to provide
for the addition of funding to the sum of £10,000 to the CVS
subject to it demonstrating it meets the criteria set out at para
2.38 of the Revenue Budget report to the Executive on 6 February
2020.’
In his introduction, the
proposer highlighted that the Executive proposal was in total
contradiction to the recommendation of the joint meeting of the
Overview and Scrutiny Panel and Development Management Committee
meeting held on 23 January 2020 (Minute OSDM.3/19 refers) whereby
the funding for the South Hams CVS should be reinstated to
£10,000.
In addition, the proposer
also pointed out that, at its meeting on 19 September 2019, the
Executive had made the decision to ‘adopt a
Commissioning Model to award Partnership Funding from 2020-23,
based on one (or all) of the following: 1. Local Need; 2. Alignment
to the Council’s Corporate Strategy; and 3. Statutory
Duty’ (Minute E.36/19 refers). In stating that the CVS met criterion 1 and 2, the
Member was of the view that the Executive had overlooked this
decision when recommending that the Grant be reduced from
£10,000 to £5,000.
During the ensuing debate on
the amendment, reference was made to:-
(a)
the
work of the
CVS. In support of the amendment, a
number of Members paid tribute to the CVS and the work that the
organisation carried out. Whilst not
disputing the point, some other Members did state that the Council
had still not received any evidence to demonstrate that it was
receiving value for money from the CVS.
As a result, these Members advised that they were willing to
support the amendment but did emphasise that this was on the
proviso that the CVS provided the necessary evidence that they
demonstrated at least one of the criteria that was referred to by
the proposer;
(b)
a potential loophole in the
amendment. Due to the subjective nature
of the wording, a Member stated his opposition to the
amendment.
In line with
statutory requirements, a recorded vote was then undertaken on this
amendment. The voting on this amendment
was recorded as follows:-
For the motion
(25): Cllrs Abbott, Austen,
Baldry, Bastone, Birch, Brown, Chown, Foss, Hawkins, Hodgson,
Holway, Hopwood, Jackson, May, McKay, O’Callaghan, Pannell,
Pearce, Pennington, Pringle, Reeve, Rowe, Smerdon, Spencer and
Taylor
Against the motion (3):
Cllrs Brazil, Kemp and Long
Abstentions (1): Cllr
Sweett
Absent (2): Cllrs Rose
and Thomas
and the vote on this amendment was therefore declared CARRIED.
Amendment
Number 2 (proposed by Cllr Brazil and seconded by Cllr
Baldry)
‘1. That Car
Parking Charges be frozen (Costing £80,000);
2. That the
CVS Grant be maintained at £10,000 (Costing £5,000)
(**NB. this part was dealt with in the previous
amendment**);
With the £85,000 cost being offset
by:
1.
Ceasing the funding of the Local
Enterprise Partnership (LEP) (Saving £5,000);
2.
Adding £40,000 to car parking
income (as per the 2019/20 outrun figures);
3.
Adding £15,000 to planning
application income (well below the 2019/20 outrun
figures);
4.
Removing the proposed Economy Officer
post (saving £25,000).
At this point,
the Chairman informed that it was her intention for each part of
this amendment to be debated and voted upon separately.
Freezing of Car Parking Charges
In support of
their amendment, the proposer and seconder highlighted the
intention to increase the usage of Council Car Parks and to provide
a much needed boost to local businesses.
In discussion,
the Leader advised that it was her intention for this increase to
be the only one imposed during this four year Council
administration. Also, the Leader
requested that officers set up a new Reserve for any Car Park
Revenue Surpluses to be allocated and ringfenced towards the
establishment of Electric Charging Points in Council owned Car
Parks.
In line with
statutory requirements, a recorded vote was then undertaken on this
part of the amendment. The voting on
this part was recorded as follows:
For the motion
(10): Cllrs Abbott, Baldry,
Birch, Brazil, Jackson, Kemp, Long, McKay, O’Callaghan and
Pannell
Against the
motion (19): Cllrs Austen, Bastone,
Brown, Chown, Foss, Hawkins, Hodgson, Holway, Hopwood, May, Pearce,
Pennington, Pringle, Reeve, Rowe, Smerdon, Spencer, Sweett and
Taylor
Abstentions
(0): None.
Absent
(2): Cllrs Rose and Thomas
and the vote on this amendment was
therefore declared LOST.
Ceasing the Funding to the Local Enterprise
Partnership (LEP)
The proposer and
seconder questioned the benefits that had been gained by the South
Hams from the LEP and made the point that the Economic Policy that
had been produced by the LEP had still not been signed off by
Central Government.
The Leader
advised that, since every indication was that the Shared Prosperity
Fund monies would be allocated through the LEP, then it would be
her recommendation that the funding should be retained.
In line with
statutory requirements, a recorded vote was then undertaken on this
part of the amendment. The voting on
this part was recorded as follows:
For the motion
(12): Cllrs Abbott, Baldry,
Birch, Brazil, Hodgson, Jackson, Kemp, Long, McKay,
O’Callaghan, Pannell and Sweett
Against the
motion (17): Cllrs Austen, Bastone,
Brown, Chown, Foss, Hawkins, Holway, Hopwood, May, Pearce,
Pennington, Pringle, Reeve, Rowe, Smerdon, Spencer and
Taylor
Abstentions (0): None.
Absent
(2): Cllrs Rose and Thomas
and the vote on this amendment was
therefore declared LOST.
Adding to Car Parking Income
When looking at
the recent car parking income trends, the proposer and seconder did
not consider it to be unreasonable to add £40,000 to the
Council’s Base Budget.
In line with
statutory requirements, a recorded vote was then undertaken on this
part of the amendment. The voting on
this part was recorded as follows:
For the motion
(12): Cllrs Abbott, Baldry,
Birch, Brazil, Hodgson, Jackson, Kemp, Long, McKay,
O’Callaghan, Pannell and Sweett
Against the
motion (17): Cllrs Austen, Bastone,
Brown, Chown, Foss, Hawkins, Holway, Hopwood, May, Pearce,
Pennington, Pringle, Reeve, Rowe, Smerdon, Spencer and
Taylor
Abstentions
(0): None.
Absent
(2): Cllrs Rose and Thomas
and the vote on this amendment was
therefore declared LOST.
Adding to the Planning Application Income
The proposer
advised that, following the joint Budget meeting of the Overview
and Scrutiny Panel and Development Management (DM) Committee, the
views of the Head of Practice for DM had been taken into account
and it was now proposed that only £15,000 be added to the
Council’s Budget.
In debate, some
Members felt that the Council should heed the advice of the lead
officer and not add a speculative £15,000 into the Base
Budget.
In line with
statutory requirements, a recorded vote was then undertaken on this
part of the amendment. The voting on
this part was recorded as follows:
For the motion
(12): Cllrs Abbott, Baldry,
Birch, Brazil, Hodgson, Jackson, Kemp, Long, McKay,
O’Callaghan, Pannell and Sweett
Against the
motion (17): Cllrs Austen, Bastone,
Brown, Chown, Foss, Hawkins, Holway, Hopwood, May, Pearce,
Pennington, Pringle, Reeve, Rowe, Smerdon, Spencer and
Taylor
Abstentions
(0): None.
Absent
(2): Cllrs Rose and Thomas
and the vote on this amendment was
therefore declared LOST.
Removal of the Proposed Economy Officer
Post
Having viewed the
proposed Job Description for the Post, the proposer and seconder
were both of the view that the roles and responsibilities were too
vast and regretted the lack of supporting targets and
outcomes.
Other Members
made reference to the Council’s Enterprise Theme that sat
beneath the adopted Corporate Strategy and were of the view that
there was a need for additional resource to support this recognised
priority.
In line with
statutory requirements, a recorded vote was then undertaken on this
part of the amendment. The voting on
this part was recorded as follows:
For the motion
(11): Cllrs Abbott, Baldry,
Brazil, Hodgson, Jackson, Kemp, Long, McKay, O’Callaghan,
Pannell and Sweett
Against the
motion (18): Cllrs Austen, Bastone,
Birch, Brown, Chown, Foss, Hawkins, Holway, Hopwood, May, Pearce,
Pennington, Pringle, Reeve, Rowe, Smerdon, Spencer and
Taylor
Abstentions (0): None.
Absent
(2): Cllrs Rose and Thomas
and the vote on
this amendment was therefore declared LOST.
During the
subsequent discussion on the substantive motion, the following
points were raised:-
(a)
There was widespread support expressed for the
proposal to allocate £400,000 into an Emergency Climate
Change Project Fund;
(b)
In reluctantly supporting the proposal to increase
Council Tax by £5, a Member asked that the Communications
Team explain the reason why this decision had been made in all of
its external communications;
(c)
A number of Members felt that the draft budget
setting process had been much more consensual than it had been in
previous years.
In line with
statutory requirements, a recorded vote was then undertaken on the
substantive motion. The voting on the
motion was recorded as follows:
For the motion
(29): Cllrs Abbott, Austen,
Baldry, Bastone, Birch, Brazil, Brown, Chown, Foss, Hawkins,
Hodgson, Holway, Hopwood, Jackson, Kemp, Long, May, McKay,
O’Callaghan, Pannell, Pearce, Pennington, Pringle, Reeve,
Rowe, Smerdon, Spencer, Sweett and Taylor
Against
the motion (0):
Abstentions (0):
Absent
(2): Cllrs Rose and Thomas
and the vote on
the motion was therefore declared CARRIED.
It was then:
RESOLVED
1.
That Council Tax be increased by £5 (which
equates to a Band D Council Tax of £170.42 for 2020/21, an
increase of £5 per year or 10 pence per week). This equates to a Council Tax Requirement of
£6,562,617;
2.
That the financial pressures outlined in Appendix B
of the presented agenda report (amounting to £1,600,640) be
agreed;
3.
That the schedule of savings identified in Appendix
B of the presented agenda report (totalling £904,877) be
agreed;
4.
That the Collection Fund Surplus of £60,000
(as illustrated in Appendix B of the presented agenda report) be
agreed;
5.
That agreement be given to the net contributions to
Reserves (£117,843) being included within the
Authority’s Budget (as set out in Appendix C of the presented
agenda report). (NB. this includes
using £564,163 of New Homes Bonus funding to fund the 2020/21
Revenue Budget);
6.
That £400,000 of New Homes Bonus funding be
used to set up an Emergency Climate Change Projects Earmarked
Reserve, as set out within Section 2.20 of the Executive Revenue
Budget Proposals Report on 6 February 2020;
7.
That the unallocated balance (currently
£235,016) of New Homes Bonus (NHB) be transferred into the
New Homes Bonus Earmarked Reserve, with its future use to be
decided when more details are known about the Spending Review for
2021/22 and following a Government consultation document on a
replacement scheme for NHB which will be published in the Spring of
2020;
8.
That an Economy Officer post (shared with West Devon
Borough Council) be added to the staffing establishment for two
years (as set out in Section 2.37 of the Executive report on 6
February 2020 on the Revenue Budget Proposals for 2020/21) be
agreed;
9.
That Partnership funding levels be as set out within
Section 2.38 of the Revenue Budget Proposals report to the
Executive on 6 February 2020, with the addition of £10,000 to
the South Hams CVS for 2020/21 only, subject to the organisation
demonstrating that it meets the criteria set out at Section 2.38 of
the Revenue Budget report, with the additional £3,000
required to be taken from Unearmarked Reserves in
2020/21;
10.
That delegated authority be given to the Section 151
Officer, in consultation with the Leader of Council and the lead
Executive Member for Finance, to agree the final amount of New
Homes Bonus funding for the Dartmoor National Park for
2020/21;
11.
That the Council should set its total net
expenditure for 2020/21 at £9,410,672 (as shown in Appendix B
of the presented agenda report);
12.
That the minimum level of the Unearmarked Revenue
Reserves be maintained at £1,500,000 (as set out at Section 7
of the Revenue Budget report presented to the Executive meeting on
6 February 2020);
13.
That the level of Reserves (as set out within the
Revenue Budget report presented to the Executive meeting on 6
February 2020) and the assessment of their adequacy and the
robustness of budget estimates be noted. (NB. this is a requirement of Part 2 of the Local
Government Act 2003); and
14.
That delegated authority be given to the Section 151
Officer, in consultation with the Leader of the Council, to carry
out a virement within the 2020-21 Budget, to increase both the
partnership expenditure budget by £9,000 and the estates
management income budget by £9,000 to reflect a commercial
rate of rent for the Citizens Advice but also to ensure no loss of
service provision to local residents.