Agenda item

At its meeting on 31 January 2018 the Executive Committee considered the 2018/19 budget and RECOMMENDED TO COUNCIL that:

1.      a net budget of £8,732,790 be APPROVED.

2.      a Band D Council Tax of £114.36, an increase of £5.00 per annum, be APPROVED. 

3.      the use of New Homes Bonus, as proposed in Paragraph 3.5, be APPROVED.

4.      the Capital Programme, as proposed in Appendix A to the report, be APPROVED.

5.      the Capital Prudential Indicators, as proposed in Appendix B to the report, be APPROVED.

6.      the annual Minimum Revenue Provision (MRP) statement, as contained in Appendix B to the report, be APPROVED.

7.      the 2018/19 Treasury Management Strategy, as proposed in Appendix C to the report, be APPROVED.

8.      the 2018/19 Flexible Use of Capital Receipts Strategy, as proposed in Appendix D to the report, be APPROVED.

9.      the Council’s involvement in a 100% Retained Business Rates Pilot in Gloucestershire for 2018/19, as detailed in Appendix E to the report, be NOTED.

(If a Councillor intends to move a Motion or Amendment in relation to the Council’s annual budget, the text of the proposed Motion or Amendment must be submitted in writing to the Borough Solicitor by 9.00am on the working day preceding the day of the Council meeting).

82.1           At its meeting on 31 January 2018, the Executive Committee had considered a report which set out the proposed budget for 2018/19. The Executive Committee had recommended approval of a net budget of £8,732,790; a Band D Council Tax of £114.36, an increase of £5.00 per annum; the use of New Homes Bonus, as proposed in Paragraph 3.5; the Capital Programme, as proposed in Appendix A to the report; the Capital Prudential Indicators, as proposed in Appendix B to the report; the annual Minimum Revenue Provision (MRP) statement, as contained in Appendix B to the report;the 2018/19 Treasury Management Strategy, as proposed in Appendix C to the report; the 2018/19 Flexible Use of Capital Receipts Strategy, as proposed in Appendix D to the report; and that the Council’s involvement in a 100% Retained Business Rates Pilot in Gloucestershire for 2018/19, as detailed in Appendix E to the report, be noted.

82.2           The report which was considered by the Executive Committee had been circulated with the Agenda for the current meeting at Pages No. 16-54.

82.3           The recommendation from the Executive Committee was proposed by the Chair of the Committee and seconded by the Lead Member for Finance and Asset Management.

82.4           During the discussion which ensued, a Member questioned how much money was in the Council’s planning reserve and whether that included the costs gained from appeals; why Ubico’s costs had increased; and how much One Legal’s case management system would cost the Council in total. In response, the Head of Finance and Asset Management explained that he was unsure what was currently left in the reserve but would update the Member following the meeting – any costs that were gained from appeals went straight back into the reserve. In terms of Ubico, the pay offer had had a significant impact on the costs of employees but, in addition, when the Council had looked at the budgets for Ubico, Officers had identified that it needed a longer season for garden waste and that it should have a budget in place for agency staff – it was those increased costs which had affected the budget and were the reason further money was required. It was not anticipated that costs would increase further over the year. In respect of One Legal, the Head of Finance and Asset Management confirmed that the total cost for the case management system was £240,000 but this was payable between Tewkesbury Borough, Cheltenham Borough and Gloucester City Councils so the payment was £80,000 each. As Tewkesbury Borough was the host Council for One Legal, it incurred all of the expenditure and reclaimed it from the other parties which was the reason the whole £240,000 was in the budget.

82.5           Referring to the proposed Council Tax levels, a Member questioned whether it would raise £169,295. She also queried whether the revenue reserve was currently £4.427 million. In response, the Head of Finance and Asset Management confirmed the amount to be raised through Council Tax and that the revenue reserve balance identified in the report was correct as at the time of writing; the exact balance would have changed slightly now but he would advise the Member of the amount following the meeting. The Member expressed the view that, with approximately £4 million in reserves, the Council should not be asking residents to pay more for their Council Tax in a time when finances were already a struggle and wages were not keeping up with inflation. She noted that the County Council was increasing its share of the Council Tax, to make greater contributions to social care, as was the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner, and she felt the Borough Council should not add to that.

82.6              Having considered the comments made, and, in accordance with the Local Authorities (Standing Orders) (England) (Amendment) Regulations 2014, voting on the proposal was recorded as follows:

82.7           Accordingly, it was

                  RESOLVED         1.    That a net budget of £8,732,790 be APPROVED.

2.    That a Band D Council Tax of £114.36, an increase of £5.00 per annum, be APPROVED. 

3.    That the use of New Homes Bonus, as proposed in Paragraph 3.5 of the report, be APPROVED.

4.    That the Capital Programme, as proposed in Appendix A to the report, be APPROVED.

5.    That the Capital Prudential Indicators, as proposed in Appendix B to the report, be APPROVED.

6.    That the annual Minimum Revenue Provision (MRP) statement, as contained in Appendix B to the report, be APPROVED.

7.    That the 2018/19 Treasury Management Strategy, as proposed in Appendix C to the report, be APPROVED.

8.    That the 2018/19 Flexible Use of Capital Receipts Strategy, as proposed in Appendix D to the report, be APPROVED.

9.    That the Council’s involvement in a 100% Retained Business Rates Pilot in Gloucestershire for 2018/19, as detailed in Appendix E to the report, be NOTED.