Agenda item

Budget Proposals Report 2018-19

Minutes:

E.63/17          

Members were presented with a comprehensive report that set out how the Council’s Medium Term Financial Position was based on a financial forecast over a rolling five year timeframe to 2022/23.  The Council had continued to work in partnership with West Devon Borough Council to achieve savings.  However, the Councils continued to face considerable financial challenges as a result of uncertainty in the wider economy and constraints on public sector spending.  The report set out the options for closing the budget gap.

 

The Leader introduced the report.  In so doing, he advised that the Executive were proposing to make four adjustments to the recommendations arising from the joint meeting of the Development Management Committee and Overview and Scrutiny Panel.  These were as follows:

 

 

1         Community Reinvestment Fund – would be completely removed;

2     Accepting payment by cash or cheque – would be stopped with effect from 1 April 2018;

3     The subscription to South West Councils would continue; and

4     The payment to the Local Enterprise Partnership would continue.

 

During discussion on this item, Members asked a number of questions of clarity.  A number of Members were concerned at the proposal to transfer or close public conveniences.  There were also concerns that savings made in some areas could be lost in the increasing costs of providing front line services in Commercial Services.  The Group Manager Commercial Services explained that there were a number of trends nationally and locally that caused the waste budget to be volatile.  The current procurement exercise would allow the Project team to look at the current base budget and make comparisons against local costs, national trends and alternative service solutions.

 

It was then:

 

RESOLVED that Council be RECOMMENDED:

 

 

i)     To increase Council Tax by £5 (which equates to a Band D council tax of £160.42 for 2018/19, an increase of £5 per year or 10 pence per week – as shown in 5.12). This equates to a Council Tax Requirement of £6,072,207.

 

ii)    That the financial pressures in Appendix B of £895,700 be agreed

 

iii)   That the £10,000 discretionary budget bid for the Citizens Advice Bureau be agreed;

 

iv)   That the schedule of savings identified in Appendix B totalling    £689,350 be agreed;

 

v)    To approve the budget proposals for Public Conveniences as set out in 6.11, 6.23 and 6.24 (This requires a decision as part of the 2018-19 budget process, due to the implementation timescales).

 

vi)   That the Collection Fund Surplus of £73,000 as shown in Appendix B be agreed ;

 

vii)  That the level of contributions to reserves to be included within the Authority’s budget, as set out in Appendix C be agreed (this includes using £721,688 of New Homes Bonus funding to fund the 2018-19 Revenue Budget and a contribution of £475,000 into an Economic Regeneration Projects Earmarked Reserve);

 

viii) To withdraw the Community Reinvestment Projects budget of £153,900 in 2018/19 onwards (This was previously funded by New Homes Bonus funding as set out in Appendix E)

 

ix)   To delegate to the S151 Officer, in consultation with the Leader and Executive Member for Support Services to agree the final amount of New Homes Bonus funding for the Dartmoor National Park Sustainable Community Fund for 18/19

 

x)    To ring-fence £3.5 million from the Business Rates Retention Earmarked Reserve for employment for the creation of local jobs and to better support the local economy, as per Appendix D

 

xi)   That the Council Tax Support Grant paid to Town and Parish Councils is reduced by 9.85% for 2018/19 as per Appendix A. This equates to a payment of £82,615 for 2018/19.

 

xii)  That the Council should set its total net expenditure for 2018/19 as shown in Appendix B as £8,902,590.

 

xiii) That the minimum level of the Unearmarked Revenue Reserves is maintained at £1,500,000 as per Section 9.

 

xiv) That the level of reserves as set out within this 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: