Council and councillors

To receive Report No. 44/2018 from the Cabinet on recommendations referred to the Council for determination and to note the Key Decisions taken at its meetings held on 16 January 2018 and 30 January 2018.

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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. 44/2018 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 16 January 2018 and 30 January 2018.

1)    Council NOTED the Key Decisions made by Cabinet since the publication of the agenda for the previous ordinary meeting of the Council on 15 January 2018.

2)    19 December 2017

Decision N0. 473

Report No. 213/2017

FEES AND CHARGES 2018-19

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

During his introduction, Mr Brown, highlighted that these fees and charges represented a significant form of income for the Council and so it was important that they were set at the correct level.  Some fees and charges were set at a statutory level, where the setting of fees was discretionary a 2% increase had been applied, unless there was business case to do something differently.

During debate of the recommendation, points raised included:

i.      Charges for residential care were not representative of the high fees paid by those in private residential care settings.

RESOLVED

a)         To APPROVE the level of fees and charges for 2018/19 as set out in Appendices 1-4 of Report No. 213/2017.

b)         To APPROVE that the fees for local elections and referendum continue to be set in line with other Local Authorities from Leicestershire.

The above resolution was voted as follows:

FOR THE MOTION (19)

Mr Arnold, Mr Baines, Mr Begy, Mr Bird, Mr Bool, Mr Brown, Mr Callaghan, Mr Cross, Mr Dale, Mr Foster, Mrs Fox, Mr Hemsley, Mr Lammie, Mr Mann, Mrs Stephenson, Mr Stewart, Miss Waller, Mr Walters, Mr Wilby.

AGAINST THE MOTION (0)

ABSTAINING FROM VOTING (1)

Mr Oxley

3)    16 January 2018

Decision No. 517

Report No. 6/2018

TREASURY MANAGEMENT STRATEGY AND CAPITAL INVESTMENT STRATEGY 2018/19

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

During his introduction Mr Brown gave a brief summary of the legislative requirements for these strategies and also highlighted the changes that had been made following feedback from Scrutiny.

RESOLVED

a)    To APPROVE the Treasury Management Strategy in Appendix 1 (Report 6/2018) including the Investment Strategy, Borrowing strategy, Minimum Revenue Provision statement and Capital Expenditure Prudential indicators.

b)    To APPROVE the Capital Investment Strategy in Appendix 2 (Report 6/2018).

c)    To APPROVE the establishment of a £10m fund for commercial investments to be used in accordance with Commercial Investment Policy in Appendix 2, Annexe B1 (Report 6/2018).

d)    To APPROVE an increase in the Authorised Borrowing Limit to £33m (previously £28m) and the Operational Boundary to £28m (previously £23m).

e)    To APPROVE the use of £50k as a start-up fund from the Invest to Save reserve (as required) to fund any pre acquisition costs associated with potential investments.

The above  ...  view the full minutes text for item 651

Report No. 8/2018

(Report to follow)

Report No.43/2018 from the Director for Resources was received.

Mr O Hemsley, Leader of the Council, introduced the report, the purpose of which was to set a balanced budget and agree the level of Council tax for 2018/19.  The report presented the final budget for Cabinet to recommend to Council for approval.

During discussion the following points were raised:

1. There had been less than 40 responses to the public consultation.  It was clear from the responses that further work was required in order to engage residents and increase understanding of the Councils financial position;
2. The lack of understanding identified was a national issue, but the Council was working towards improving the way in which financial information was presented, so that it was in a more accessible and understandable format.  The Assistant Director (Finance), Mr Della Rocca, confirmed that a consultant had been employed in order to develop a communications strategy to increase dissemination of information on the financial position of the Council and how it compared to other authorities including; how the Council spends its money; the funding position; savings and changes to Council Tax.

DECISION

Cabinet RECOMMENDED to Council that it:

1)     APPROVES the Revenue Budget for 2018/19 detailed in Appendix 1, section 3;

2)     APPROVES that the minimum level of general reserves remains at £2m ;

3)     APPROVES a Council Tax increase of 4.99% including a 2% social care precept;

4)     NOTES the capital programme as detailed in Section 4 of Appendix 1;

5)     NOTES that additional revenue may be incurred in 2018/19 funded through 2017/18 underspends to be carried forward via earmarked reserves;

6)     APPROVES a collection fund deficit of £80,000 for clawback of which £70,000 is the Rutland share.

Reasons for the decision

1.  The Council is required to set a balanced budget and agree the level of Council tax for 2018/19. 

2.  The budget is affordable within the context of the MTFP and will allow the Council to meet service aims and objectives for the coming year.