Agenda item

CM 35             

Consideration was given to a report that presented the Hub Committee draft recommendations on the Revenue Budget for 2021-22.

In the ensuing debate, reference was made to:-

(a)    the work of the Section 151 Officer and her finance colleagues.  Members thanked the Section 151 Officer and her finance colleagues for their tireless work in ensuring that the Council was able to be presented with a balanced Revenue Budget for 2021/22;

(b)    the proposed £5 increase in Council Tax.  Whilst recognising the detrimental inflationary impact and the consequent shortfall to the Base Budget, some Members still stated their opposition to the proposed increase and were of the view that it would be morally wrong to support such a proposal during the current Pandemic;

(c)     the proportion of total Council Tax that was actually the Borough Council precept.  Some Members felt that, as the collecting authority, there were a number of public misconceptions over the Borough Council precept.  As a result, it was felt that there was a need for the Communications Team to produce and publish messaging at the time of annual billing in an attempt to counter these misconceptions.

At the conclusion of the debate and, in accordance with statutory legislation, the Mayor then called for a recorded vote on part 1 only of the recommendation.  The vote was subsequently recorded as follows:-

For the motion (28):           Cllrs Ball, Bolton, Cheadle, Coulson, Crozier, Daniel, Davies, Edmonds, Ewings, Heyworth, Hipsey, Jory, Kemp, Kimber, Leech, Moody, Mott, Moyse, Musgrave, Pearce, Ratcliffe, Ridgers, Samuel, Sellis, Southcott, Spettigue, Vachon and Wood

Against the motion (2):      Cllrs Bridgewater and Renders                  

Abstentions (0):                              

Absent (1):                         Cllr Yelland (*)

and the vote on part 1 of the recommendation was therefore declared CARRIED.

(NOTE (*): due to experiencing connection issues at the time of the recorded vote, Cllr Yelland was unable to take part in the vote.)

In accordance with statutory legislation, the Mayor then called for a recorded vote on parts 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14 and 15 of the recommendation.  The vote on these parts was subsequently recorded as follows:-

For the motion (30):    Cllrs Ball, Bolton, Bridgewater, Cheadle, Coulson, Crozier, Daniel, Davies, Edmonds, Ewings, Heyworth, Hipsey, Jory, Kemp, Kimber, Leech, Moody, Mott, Moyse, Musgrave, Pearce, Ratcliffe, Renders, Ridgers, Samuel, Sellis, Southcott, Spettigue, Vachon and Wood

Against the motion (0):                                       

Abstentions (0):                              

Absent (1):                 Cllr Yelland (*)

and the vote was therefore declared CARRIED.

(NOTE (*): due to experiencing connection issues at the time of the recorded vote, Cllr Yelland was unable to take part in the vote.)

It was consequently “RESOLVED that

1.     an increase in Council Tax be set for 2021/22 of £5 (Band D of £241.63 for 2021/22 – an increase of 10 pence per week or £5 per year – equating to a 2.11% increase);

2.     the financial pressures (as set out at Appendix A of the presented agenda report and amounting to £434,000) be approved;

3.     the net contributions to/(from) Earmarked Reserves of £42,500 (as set out at Appendix A of the presented agenda report) be approved;

4.     the proposed use of £192,772 of New Homes Bonus funding to fund the 2021/22 Revenue Budget (as set out in Section 4.24 of the presented agenda report) be approved;

5.     the savings of £344,200 (as shown in Appendix A of the presented agenda report) be approved;

6.     officers be requested to undertake further research before a final decision is taken for additional funding to be allocated to the Community Safety Partnership, with this research being reported back to Members as soon as is practically possible.  (NB, this is in relation to the Business Case for additional funding for the Community Safety Partnership as per Section 5.2 and Appendix F of the presented agenda report);

7.     the Total Net Expenditure of the Council is £7,301,695 for 2021/22;

8.     £281,404 (the fifth tranche of COVID funding as set out in Sections 1.12 and 11.2 of the presented agenda report) be transferred into a COVID Earmarked Reserve to protect against future COVID losses in 2021/22;

9.     the level of Reserves (as set out within the presented agenda report 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);

10. the Environmental Health charges (as set out in Appendix D of the presented agenda report) be approved with no proposed increases for 2021/22;

11. the level of Fees and Charges set out for Planning Applications and Enforcement (Appendix E of the presented agenda report refers) be approved with no proposed increases for 2021/22;

12. the proposed Fees and Charges for Street Naming be approved in accordance with Appendix E of the presented agenda report;

13. the proposed Section 106 Monitoring fee (as set out at Appendix E of the presented agenda report) be approved;

14. delegated authority be granted to the Section 151 Officer, in consultation with the lead Hub Committee Member, to set the Local Land Charges as appropriate for cost recovery;

15. delegated authority be given to the relevant Head of Practice, in consultation with the relevant lead Executive Member, to adjust the Fees and Charges within their service area by inflation at suitable periodic intervals, reporting to the Hub Committee as deemed appropriate.”