Council and councillors

Report No. 19/2016 from the Director for Resources was received.

The Assistant Director – Finance, Mr Della Rocca, introduced the report, the purpose of which was that the Council was required to set a balanced budget and agree the level of Council Tax including whether a social care precept of up to 2% should be levied for 2016/17.  The report presented a draft budget and updated Medium Term Financial Plan to be approved for consultation prior to the budget being formally set in February 2016.

During consideration the following points were noted:

i)             That there was one new capital project to be approved, solar photovoltaic panels at Oakham Enterprise Park, at a total of £100k.  The Director for Places (Development and Economy), Mr Phillipson, advised Members that with the installation of the solar panels the Authority was looking to save £7k in the first year; after 8 years the panels should have paid for themselves and over the lifespan of the panels (20 years) income of £279K was expected; a cumulative figure from the fuel savings and government feed-in tariff.  It was noted that solar panels would also help to reduce the carbon footprint of the industrial estate.

ii)            That further initiatives were contained within the budget report.

iii)           That Cabinet could receive specific reports on the business case for an initiative prior to agreement being given.

iv)           The refurbishment of the Rutland Active Hub was designed to allow for solar panels.

v)            If the Oakham Enterprise Park Solar Panel project was approved by Cabinet and Council a progress report could be placed on the Cabinet Forward Plan.

vi)           The reduction to funding as a result of the reform of the New Homes Bonus was based on the policy questions included in the Government consultation; subsequent conversations with the Minister and other local authorities implied that the conclusions contained within the report were correct.

vii)         Members queried the difference in £’s between 3.75%, referred to on several occasions in the report and the 3.99% that was being sought.  Members were advised that for a Band D property this equated to £3.50 per annum.  Mr Della Rocca was requested to provide a table for the Scrutiny Panel meetings to show the differences in increases at 1%, 2% etc up to 3.99%.

viii)        Members were advised that £379k non pay inflation related to inflation assumptions built into the budget to allow for non pay on utilities, business rates and consumables. 

THE MEETING RETURNED TO PUBLIC SESSION

DECISIONS

1)    Cabinet APPROVED for consultation:

·         The General Fund Budget for 2016/17 detailed in Section 3 of Appendix 1 of Report No. 19/2016

·         The savings proposals set out in Appendix 6 of Report No. 19/2016.

·         The service pressures contained within Appendix 7 of Report No. 19/2016 and other pressures listed in 3.5.1. of Appendix 1 of Report No. 19/2016 including the interim cost reduction programme

·         The indicative Directorate budgets per Appendices 3 – 5 of Report No. 19/2016

·         That Council Tax for 2016/17 is increased by 3.99% including a 2% social care precept

·         The capital programme as detailed in Section 4 of Appendix 1 of Report No. 19/2016 including a new capital project as per Appendix 11 of Report No. 19/2016

·         That an amount of £38k of Revenue Support Grant was transferred to parish councils to compensate them for the loss of tax base arising from the delivery of council tax support as a discount

2)    Cabinet NOTED

·         The Medium Term Financial Plan at Appendix 2 of Report No. 19/2016 and underlying assumptions

·         That the funding position may change when the NNDR (business rates) tax base and local government finance settlement were finalised

·         That other than the one new project proposed there had been no substantive changes to the existing capital programme and that schemes would be added subject to formal appraisal and approval

·         That additional revenue or capital expenditure may be incurred in 2016/17 funded through 2015/16 budget under spends to be carried forward via earmarked reserves.  The use of reserves for budget carry forwards was not currently shown in the budget but would have no impact on the General Fund

·         The estimated surplus of £172,000 on the Collection Fund as at 31 March 2016 (2.8 of Appendix 1 of Report No. 19/2016) of which £148,500 was the Rutland share

·         That Council would be approving the Treasury Management Strategy separately and that any implications arising from it were already covered in the draft budget