Agenda item

Budget 2020/21

At its meeting on 5 February 2020 the Executive Committee considered the 2020/21 budget and RECOMMENDED TO COUNCIL that:

1. A net budget of £8,956,607 be APPROVED.

2. A Band D Council Tax of £124.36, an increase of £5.00 per annum, be APPROVED.

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

4. The addition of £183,965 to the capital programme to fund new ICT requirements, as outlined in Paragraph 9.5 of the report, be AGREED.

5. The capital programme, as proposed in Appendix A to the report, be AGREED.

(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).

Minutes:

75.1 At its meeting on 5 February 2020 the Executive Committee considered the 2020/21 budget and made a recommendation to Council.

75.2 The report which was considered by the Executive Committee had been circulated with the Agenda for the current meeting at Pages No. 14-28.

75.3 In proposing the recommendation, the Chair of the Executive Committee explained that this was the most important thing the Council did throughout the year and a lot of hard work went into putting together a balanced budget both from Officers and Members across the Council. The Lead Member for Finance and Asset Management seconded the recommendation from the Executive Committee and conveyed special thanks to the Head of Finance and Asset Management for the work he had put into ensuring the Council had a budget it considered acceptable.

75.4 During the brief discussion which ensued, a Member questioned what the £20,000 for the climate emergency would cover and he was advised that this was an ongoing commitment to help support work across the Borough. The Council was also considering putting in place a new post which would help it meet its climate emergency commitments; the £20,000 funding was meant to be a starting point in delivering this as a priority of the Council. Referring to the capital programme, and the provision of a new bridge in Ashchurch, a Member questioned whether any allowance had been made for cost overruns. In response, the Head of Finance and Asset Management advised that the project cost included a contingency of 12.5%; work was still ongoing but the consultants currently working on the project had indicated the funding available would be adequate.

75.5 The proposal was seconded and, in accordance with the Local Authorities (Standing Orders) (England) (Amendment) Regulations 2014, voting on the proposal was recorded as follows:

For	Against	Abstain	Absent
R A Bird		H S Munro	C L J Carter
G F Blackwell		P E Smith	J H Evetts
G J Bocking		M G Sztymiak	L A Gerrard
C M Cody			D J Harwood
K J Cromwell			P W Ockelton
M Dean			C Reid
R D East			V D Smith
P A Godwin			S A T Stevens
M A Gore			P N Workman
D W Gray
A Hollaway
M L Jordan
E J MacTiernan
J R Mason
H C McLain
P D McLain
J W Murphy
A S Reece
J K Smith
R J G Smith
C Softley
R J Stanley
P D Surman
S Thomson
R J E Vines
M J Williams

75.6 Accordingly, it was

RESOLVED 1. That a net budget of £8,956,607 for 2020/21 be APPROVED.

2. That a Band D Council Tax of £124.36, 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 AGREED.

4. That the addition of £183,965 to the capital programme to fund new ICT requirements, as outlined in Paragraph 9.5 of the report, be AGREED.

5. That the Capital Programme, as proposed in Appendix A to the report, be AGREED.

Supporting documents: