Agenda item

To recommend a budget for 2021/22 to the Council.

That it be RECOMMENDED TO COUNCIL:

1.     That a new budget of £9,270,575 be APPROVED.

2.     That a Band D Council Tax of £129.36, an increase of £5.00 per annum, be APPROVED.  

3.     That the use of uncommitted reserves totalling £431,108 to support the base budget be APPROVED.

4.     That the inclusion of growth items within the budget for 2021/22 be APPROVED as proposed in Appendix A to the report.

5.     That the capital programme be APPROVED as proposed in Appendix B to the report.

83.1          The report of the Head of Finance and Asset Management, circulated at Pages No. 102-120, set out a proposed budget for 2021/22 which the Committee was asked to recommend to Council for approval.

83.2          The Head of Finance and Asset Management drew attention to a number of key points. He explained that this year’s budget had been incredibly challenging set against the backdrop of COVID-19, the confirmed withdrawal of New Homes Bonus, the increasing needs of services and the widening aspirations of the Council but, nonetheless it was a well-rounded budget with no redundancies, increased efficiency and services ongoing with only a modest reliance on Council reserves and increase in Council Tax. The modest use of reserves meant a solid balance of reserves was maintained to meet future challenges.

83.3          Members thanked the Head of Finance and Asset Management and his team for their hard work in managing to put together a balanced budget. Referring to Page No. 119, Section A, a Member questioned why a new food waste round was required. In response, the Head of Community Services advised that the current food waste rounds were struggling on certain days of the week and getting to the point where the rounds could not be completed with the current resources because of increased recycling. In respect of Section B, the Member questioned why £10,000 was required for an IT Auditor and what the benefits were of that role. In response, the Head of Corporate Services explained that the audit team lacked the IT expertise required given the growing risk to the Council in that area and the need for assurance that it was safe and secure. In respect of the Borough Development Reserve, the Head of Finance and Asset Management confirmed that the Council had previously set aside £600,000 to support the development of large sites across the Borough, and expenditure items like masterplanning used that reserve quite quickly meaning it needed to be topped up. The Member also questioned whether the other Ubico partners had signed up to the exploration of in-cab technology and whether this was an ‘invest to save’ type item. In response, the Head of Community Services advised that Cotswold District Council was just commencing trials of in-cab technology - all of the other Ubico partners had expressed interest and were making investments this year. The project was an invest to save item as it would make the services more responsive and efficient.

83.4          Referring to Page No. 112, Section 7.1, a Member noted the large budget increase in Corporate Services and Development Services and questioned why this was. In response, the Head of Finance and Asset Management explained that one of the reasons for increased costs in Development Services was the £100,000 top up for the Borough Development Reserve. In respect of Corporate Services, the increase was a range of things being put in place to support the team including the IT Auditor – he undertook to provide a breakdown outside of the meeting. The Head of Finance and Asset Management welcomed any specific questions following the meeting and he would feed those questions and responses into the budget seminar which all Members were invited to on 8 February 2021.

83.5          Accordingly, it was