Issue - meetings

Report of the Cabinet Member Finance

The Mayor invited the Cabinet Member Finance to introduce the budget which would then be followed by a presentation by the Section 151 Officer and to facilitate the presentation of the Budget, the Mayor proposed suspension of certain rules of debate, namely:-

That the time limit on speeches is relaxed with regard to the following speeches

• Cabinet Member Finance when moving the motion to adopt the budget being proposed by the Cabinet.

• Group leaders or Group spokesperson when making budget statements on behalf of their group.

The Cabinet Member Finance and Group Leaders could also speak more than once in the debate (in addition to any rights of reply etc) for the purpose of putting and answering questions. 

This was agreed by Council.

The Cabinet Member Finance introduced the 2013/14 budget proposals with a detailed speech (please see Appendix 1).  

The Cabinet Member Finance moved acceptance of the 2013/14 budget as set out in the report.  The motion was seconded by Councillor Jordan who reserved his right to speak.

The Section 151 Officer made his presentation (please see Appendix 2) and in response to a question from a member he explained the reason that there was no specific reference to the New Homes Bonus in the risk register.  The projection of £699k agreed for 2013/14 was guaranteed until 2016/17 and there would be more in addition to this for any new homes built during this time.  Admittedly, after this period, some would fall away but projections suggested that the figure of £699k was very conservative. He believed that the strategy being proposed followed the same principle in that only £450k had been built-in, with £250k supporting the base budget and £200k for maintenance which could be revisited at any time.  He felt confident that this was a prudent approach.

In response to questions from members, the Cabinet Member Finance gave the following responses:

• The suggestion of a ‘snow reserve’ would be considered only after any recommendations were reached by the Cabinet Member Waste Group following their review of the issue. 
• He felt it would be more sensible to review green waste costs at the start of a new calendar year rather than a new financial year.
• Leisure costs increased in Cheltenham each year, with costs generally increasing by 2.5% and he accepted that there were a number of organisations that were concerned about this.
• The plans of the Police and Crime Commissioner were still unfolding but there had already been considerable discussions and the council wanted very much to work with the P&CC, not only to save money. 
• It was the Governments view that now was not the right time to consider the formation of unitary authorities and for the time being the council was achieving a lot through shared services.  His view was that a unitary authority with GCC would be too big but that a unitary with Tewkesbury Borough Council or Cotswold District Council could be a way forward in the future.
• He had tried to  ...  view the full minutes text for item 10

Joint report of the Cabinet Member Finance and the Director Resources.

RESOLVED THAT it be recommended to Council that:

1. The revised budget for 2012/13 with a projected underspend of £260.5k be noted and that the proposals for its use be approved as detailed in Appendix 3.

Having considered the budget assessment by the Section 151 Officer at Appendix 9 :

2. the final budget proposals including a proposed council tax for the services provided by Cheltenham Borough Council of £187.12 for the year 2013/14 (a 0% increase based on a B and D property) be approved.

3. the growth proposals, including one off initiatives at Appendix 3, be approved.

4. the savings / additional income and the budget strategy at Appendix 4 be approved.

5. the proposed capital programme at Appendix 6, as outlined in Section 8 be approved.

6. the proposed Property Maintenance programme at Appendix 7, as outlined in section 9 be approved

7. the potential liability in respect of Municipal Mutual Insurance, as outlined in Section 10, be noted and that £80k has been built into the revised budget as a provision to cover the potential exposure to this liability be noted.

8. a level of supplementary estimate of £100,000 for 2013/14 as outlined in section 13 be approved.

The Cabinet Member Finance introduced the report and explained that there were no significant differences between the final budget proposals 2013/14 and those that had been presented in draft at Cabinet on 21 December 2012 for consultation. However, the draft budget had been published prior to the announcement of the government 2013/14 financial settlement and the figures had been slightly better than predicted which meant that the budget gap would be closed entirely.

With regard to changes to the draft budget, the Cabinet Member Finance reported that Overview and Scrutiny had requested a £2000 expenditure for the training of members of planning committee. In terms of capital items £170,000 was proposed for the refurbishment of the new café as part of the redevelopment scheme of the Art Gallery & Museum and £30,000 would be allocated to the replacement of pool hall lighting to LEDs at leisure@ subject to a business case. The Cabinet Member Finance informed the meeting that a supplementary capital programme would be coming to Cabinet and Council for decision later in the year. This would encompass the capital receipt from the sale of Midwinter and North Place and Portland Street car parks. Such capital monies could be used to facilitate further investment in infrastructure in the town.

RESOLVED THAT it be recommended to Council that:

1. The revised budget for 2012/13 with a projected underspend of £260.5k be noted and that the proposals for its use be approved as detailed in Appendix 3.

Having considered the budget assessment by the Section 151 Officer at Appendix 9 :

2. the final budget proposals including a proposed council tax for the services provided by Cheltenham Borough Council of £187.12 for the year 2013/14 (a 0% increase based on a B and D property) be approved.

3. the growth proposals, including one off initiatives at Appendix 3, be approved.

4. the savings / additional income and the budget strategy at Appendix 4 be approved.

5. the proposed capital programme at Appendix 6, as outlined in Section 8 be approved.

6. the proposed Property Maintenance programme at Appendix 7, as outlined in section 9 be approved

7. the potential liability in respect of Municipal Mutual Insurance, as outlined in Section 10, be noted and that £80k has been built into the revised budget as a provision to cover the potential exposure to this liability be noted.

8. a level of supplementary estimate of £100,000 for 2013/14 as outlined in section 13 be approved.