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The Chairman reminded members of the mandatory requirement to record votes in relation to the Budget, setting Council Tax and issuing precepts.

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Report No. 49/2019 from the Cabinet was received to consider recommendations of the Cabinet referred to Council for determination and to note the Key Decisions made by Cabinet at its meetings held on 15 January 2019 and 19 February 2019.

 

Mr Brown introduced and moved the recommendations in the report.  Mr Hemsley seconded the recommendations.

 

1)    Council NOTED the Key Decisions made by Cabinet since the publication of the agenda for the previous ordinary meeting of the Council on 21 January 2019, as detailed in Appendix A of Report No. 49/2019.

 

2)    15 January 2019

Decision No. 498

Report No. 5/2019

TREASURY MANAGEMENT STRATEGY AND CAPITAL INVESTMENT STRATEGY 2019/20

 

During his introduction Mr Brown confirmed that both of the Strategy’s had had only minor changes since last year, as set out in the report.  They had also been through the Council’s Scrutiny process and all member’s queries had been answered. In terms of the Commercial Investment Policy, no investments had been made in line with the policy during the last 12 months and there were no plans or proposals under consideration at this time.  Should any opportunities come forward they would require the approval of Council before they went ahead.

 

RESOLVED

 

To APPROVE the Treasury Management Strategy in Appendix 1 of Report No. 5/2019 including the Investment Strategy, Borrowing strategy, Minimum Revenue Provision statement and Capital Expenditure Prudential indicators.

To APPROVE the Capital Investment Strategy in Appendix 2 of Report No. 5/2019.

The above resolution was voted as follows:

FOR THE MOTION (17)

Mr Arnold, Mr Baines, Mr Bird, Mr Bool, Mr Brown, Ms Burkitt, Mr Foster, Mrs Fox, Mr Hemsley, Mr Lammie, Mr Lowe, Mr Oxley, Mr Parsons, Mrs Stephenson, Miss Waller, Mr Walters, Mr Wilby.

AGAINST THE MOTION (0)

ABSTAINING FROM THE MOTION (0)

3)     15 January 2019

Decision No. 499

Report No. 6/2019

FEES AND CHARGES 2019/20

Mr Brown introduced the report noting that fees and charges were a significant source of income for the Council.  Mr Brown described the approach to increases in fees as detailed in section 2.4 of the report.  The report had been though the councils Scrutiny process. There had been some concern regarding the significant increase in burial fees for leasing a plot for 99 years.  The cemetery had been losing significant sums of money in recent years, on average £30k per annum.  The increase in fees is aimed at moving to a breakeven period over the next three years.  There had also been some media interest in the introduction of a charge for licences for A-Boards.  This charge would enable good street management, the safety of pedestrians and ability to ensure A- Boards were properly sited and of appropriate size, this is particularly important for disabled users and issues had been highlighted by Rutland Access Group.  With regard to parking the Council was introducing a 30 minute tariff free period in order to support town centre shopping and the 20 pence transaction charge for use of RinGo was also being removed.  References to “long stay” and “short stay” were also being removed.

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The Chairman adjourned the meeting at 19:22

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The Chairman re-adjourned the meeting at 19:25

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The Chief Executive reminded members that it was their decision to declare an interest in relation to owning businesses which had A-Boards outside.

 

At this point of the meeting Mrs Stephenson, Mr Baines and Mr Parsons declared a pecuniary interest in relation to the Fees and Charges recommendation.

 

Mr Oxley also declared an interest in relation to the Fees and Charges recommendation relating the burial fees.

 

In light of the particular circumstances while Councillors had declared a pecuniary interest they were not required to leave the room. No Councillor that declared a Pecuniary Interest voted on the matter.

 

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During debate of the recommendation points raised included:

 

i.    It was confirmed that the charge and effectiveness  of the decision to charge for a licence for A-Boards would be reviewed annually;

ii.   Mr Oxley highlighted that traders in Uppingham also used pavements outside of shops for tables and chairs and for displaying goods and requested whether the licence covered display of merchandise.  Mr Brown would provide an answer outside of the meeting;

iii.  Mr Oxley also requested clarification that the free period for parking would not require any payment, it was confirmed that this was the case, no payment would be required;

iv.Mr Oxley noted that the fee for a 99 year lease of a cemetery plot in Oakham would be 10 times more expensive than in Uppingham and that Uppingham residents had raised concerns that more Rutland residents would now want to purchase plots in Uppingham.  It was confirmed that Uppingham Town Council were responsible for the Uppingham Cemetery and they had indicated they would also consider their fees;

v.   Miss Waller requested further information be provided to members on cemeteries in the County and the responsible authority for each.

 

RESOLVED

 

a)     To APPROVE the level of fees and charges for 2019/20 as set out in Appendices 1-4 of Report No. 6/2019 with the exception of taxi and private hire vehicle licenses.

b)     To NOTE that taxi and private hire vehicle licenses fees will be subject to consultation through a public notice procedure and be brought back for approval following that consultation.

The above resolution was voted as follows:

FOR THE MOTION (14)

Mr Arnold, Mr Bird, Mr Bool, Mr Brown, Ms Burkitt, Mr Foster, Mrs Fox, Mr Hemsley, Mr Lammie, Mr Lowe, Miss Waller, Mr Walters, Mr Wilby.

AGAINST THE MOTION (0)

ABSTAINING FROM THE MOTION (4)

Mr Baines, Mr Oxley, Mr Parsons and Mrs Stephenson.

 

4)    19 February 2019

Decision No. 603

Report No. 44/2019

REVENUE AND CAPITAL BUDGET 2019/20 AND MEDIUM TERM FINANCIAL PLAN

 

Mr Brown introduced the report and noted again that the report had been through the Scrutiny process and Cabinet.  Mr Brown provided a brief overview of the Budget highlighting that funding from Government was reducing and that had had an impact for the Council budget of a reduction of at least £4million.  Looking forward to 2021 and beyond, the latest indication was that the figures for 2021 would not be received from Government until December 2019.  As such, a prudent view of the situation had been taken to ensure the position did not become more difficult next year.  Overall RCC spends less per household than other unitary authorities and also received less government funding than other equivalent unitary authorities.  It was important to recognise that there was an inequality of funding.  The new formula regime may improve this position, but this would not be known for some time.

 

Mr Brown also explained that this year there had been a consultation on the Budget which had been widely publicised to residents and the business community.  There were a variety of responses as detailed in the report.

 

During debate of the recommendation points raised included:

 

i.    Mr Brown confirmed that there were no specific EU grants which would be lost as a result of Brexit.  Brexit had been identified as a risk as detailed at Section 1.3, point 18 of the report.  Central Government had allocated funding to RCC in order to assist with the impact of Brexit and further details on the conditions of the grant were awaited;

ii.   Miss Waller requested that in future the questions in the consultation were phrased in a more positive way which emphasises positive messages with regards to the councils spending and budget management;

iii.  Mr Baines highlighted the benefits of partnership with SPARSE Rural (Local Government Association partnership for local authorities delivering rural services) with regard to inequalities in Government funding;

iv. Mr Baines also raised the matter of the level of precept for the Leicestershire Police and Crime Commissioner, his view was that the precept fees in this area did not deliver value for money.  Mr Walters would provide a copy of the papers provided to the Police and Crime Panel which would provide further information in this respect.

 

RESOLVED

 

a)  To APPROVE the Revenue Budget for 2019/20 detailed in Appendix 1, section 3 of Report No. 44/2019;

b)  To APPROVE that the minimum level of general reserves remains at £2m;

c)  To APPROVE a Council Tax increase of 4.99% (of which 2% is for expenditure on adult social care);

d)  To NOTE the capital programme as detailed in Section 4 of Appendix 1 of Report No. 44/2019;

e)  To NOTE that additional revenue may be incurred in 2019/20 funded through 2018/19 underspends to be carried forward via earmarked reserves;

f)    To APPROVE a surplus of £75k on the Collection Fund as at 31 March 2019 of which £65k is the Rutland share.

 

The above resolution was voted as follows:

FOR THE MOTION (17)

Mr Arnold, Mr Baines, Mr Bird, Mr Bool, Mr Brown, Ms Burkitt, Mr Foster, Mrs Fox, Mr Hemsley, Mr Lammie, Mr Lowe, Mr Oxley, Mr Parsons, Mrs Stephenson, Miss Waller, Mr Walters, Mr Wilby.

AGAINST THE MOTION (0)

ABSTAINING FROM THE MOTION (0)