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Council was reminded that Council Procedure Rule 31.15.6 within the Councils Constitution required a recorded vote to be taken at the setting of the Budget.
Council considered the Finance Director's report which presented the General Fund Budget for 2020/21.
Members were advised that the budget reflected the one-year local government finance settlement for 2020/21 which was announced in December and essentially represented a roll over of the previous years funding allocation.
From next year there will be a new system of funding for Local government which would see a greater share of business rate receipts being retained locally. There are a number of key pieces of work nationally that will be used to inform the future funding for local authorities, namely the fair funding review and the review of business rates retention, resulting in local services being funded from local sources of income.
As an Authority that is currently one of the highest receivers of revenue support grant for our tier of local government, the Council will ensure that they continue to be proactive in responding to the consultations and feeding into these reviews to inform the future funding for Great Yarmouth Borough Council.
The report covers the 2020/21 budget only and makes recommendations for the setting of the council tax for the Boroughs element which is in line with the national assumptions of council tax increases which amounts to a £5 increase for a band D per annum, and £3.33 for a band A. When taken into account with the level of parish precepts for the Borough, Great Yarmouth will continue to be the lowest for Norfolk and one of the lowest nationally.
The Council continues to hold a number of earmarked reserves which along with the general reserve provides some financial stability. Whilst the transfers from reserves should only be seen as a one-off source of funding, use of reserves in this way can provide one-off upfront funding for projects and schemes that can deliver future savings and efficiencies.
The budget as presented for recommendation has been set within the context of funding reductions, whilst still continuing to deliver essential services such as
- waste and recycling,
- grounds maintenance,
- housing including support for homelessness which we have been allocated just under £300,000 grant funding to reduce homelessness.
These have all been possible at the same time as leading on the replacement leisure facility along the seafront, which along with the completion of the waterways this year, will see a transformation and continued investment in some of the boroughs significant assets to support and regenerate the area.
These and other key projects have been possible due to the Council making investments in its assets and also successfully drawing down external funding, either from national funding for example heritage lottery, or locally from the Local Enterprise partnership and from business rates.
The Authority are continuing to make progress in applying for further external funding from the future high street and towns fund to facilitate and support continued economic growth within the borough.
The budget presented reflected the continued investment and proactive work that the Council is undertaking to support the economy and public priorities. This will be achievable due to the council’s priority to operate as effectively and efficiently as possible and identify opportunities to generate additional income and retain growth within the borough.
Whilst there are still financial challenges ahead, and at this time we do not know what the outcome of the funding reviews will be from 2021/22 onwards, the key themes of our business strategy including:
- regeneration,
- delivering and facilitating growth be it new homes or business, and
- ensuring that we operate in an effective and efficient manner will all remain a priority in the medium term.
To ensure that the Council able to plan for 2021/22 in a timely manner, work on the future financial planning for the Authority will commence early in the new financial year and will be updated once outcomes of the spending review and fair funding review are announced.
The Leader congratulated the Finance Director and her team on the work that had been undertaken by the Finance team on producing the Budget for 2020/21.
Councillor Wainwright commented that he hoped that Great Yarmouth was not left behind as part of the Fair Funding review. He referred to the increase to the Parish Precepts, Councillor Wainwright referred to the concurrent function grants that Parish Councils received and used Hemsby Parish Council as an example and he suggested that these grants should be reviewed.
Councillor Wainwright suggested the following items be considered as part of the recommendations for approval :-
(1) That a review be undertaken on the level of Concurrent Function Grants awarded ahead of the 2021/22 Budget setting.
Councillor Plant commented that the concurrent function grants were used to help maintain the villages of the Borough and felt in his opinion if these were not made available then the villages may not be maintained as they currently are.
Councillor Martin commented that she felt there was a need for these grants to have accountability to them to show where and what the funds are spent on.
Following a vote this amendment to the recommendations was CARRIED
(2) A £1000 Ward Budget to be provided to all 39 Councillors for 2020/21 to be taken from General Reserves to be reviewed next year.
Councillor Martin commented that she was fully supportive of reintroducing the Ward Budgets and felt that these would benefit residents of the Borough.
Councillor Myers advised that he agreed with the reintroduction of the Ward Budgets and he had seen a positive outcome from these when they were previously awarded.
The Leader sought comments from the Section 151 Officer with regard to the impact on the budget if these grants were to be reintroduced, he was advised that the balance on reserves currently sat at £3.1m and that £300k reamined for general use, although the Section 151 Officer advised of the risks when allocating one off monies.
Following a vote this amendment to the recommendations was CARRIED
(3) An amendment to the Mayoral Civic Budget for 2020/21 of an increase of 2% which will result in the budget for 2020/21 being £5,610.
Following a vote this amendment to the recommendations was CARRIED
Councillor T Wright raised some concern with regards to the increase in Burial Charges and the collection of Bulky Waste. He also referred to the Easter Fair fees and charges and asked if the revenue for the loss of the use of that facility during the fairs use was taken into consideration. The Chief Executive Officer advised that a report on the Easter Fair was to be brought back to the Policy and Resources Committee.
Proposer : Councillor Smith
Seconder : Councillor Wainwright
That approval be given to the following :-
1) The 2020/21 general fund revenue budget as outlined at Appendix A;
2) The Council Tax for 2020/21 for the Borough Council tax be £166.48 (for an
average Band D);
3) That the demand on the Collection Fund for 2020/21 be:
a. £4,835,911 for the Borough Council purposes;
b. £474,871 for Parish Precepts;
4) The statement of and movement on the reserves as detailed at Appendix E
and within section 8 of the report;
5) The Policy framework for reserves as detailed at Appendix F;
6) The updated Capital Programme and financing for 2019/20 to 2020/21 as
detailed at Appendix G;
7) New capital bid proposals at Appendix H;
8) The prudential indicators and minimum revenue provision policy as detailed
at Appendix I.
9) That a review be undertaken on the level of Concurrent Function Grants awarded ahead of the 2021/22 Budget setting.
10) A £1000 Ward Budget to be provided to all 39 Councillors for 2020/21 to be taken from General Reserves to be reviewed next year.
11) An amendment to the Mayoral Civic Budget for 2020/21 of an increase of 2% which will result in the budget for 2020/21 being £5,610.
A recorded vote was taken on this matter as follows :-
For the Motion :-
Councillors Annison, Bensly, Bird, Borg, Cameron, Candon, G Carpenter, P Carpenter, Cordiner-Achenbach, Fairhead, Flaxman-Taylor, Freeman, Galer, Grant, Hacon, D Hammond, P Hammond, Jeal, Lawn, Martin, Mogford, Myers, Plant, Robinson-Payne, Scott-Greenard, Smith, Smith-Clare, Stenhouse, Talbot, Wainwright, B Walker, C M Walker, C Walker, Waters-Bunn, Wells, Williamson, B Wright and T Wright.
CARRIED