ECCLESHALL PARISH COUNCIL – POLICY AND RESOURCES COMMITTEE – Wednesday, December 1st,  2021

A meeting of the Policy and Resources Committee was held on Wednesday, December 1st , 2021, following the planning committee meeting, at 9.00pm.

1).   Present were:-        

Councillor P. Jones (Chair)                       Councillor L. Dale

Councillor J. Jones                                     Councillor C. Wilkins

Councillor G. Dale                                      Councillor R. Taylor

Councillor E. Amos                                     Councillor S. Perren (VC)

Councillor A. Reid

Mrs S. J. Worden (Clerk)

No members of the Public

Apologies:- No apologies were received.

2).    Minutes of the meeting held on Wednesday September 1st 2021:-

The minutes, which had previously been noted by the Council, were agreed and signed.

3).   Budget update 2021/22 :-

Prior to the meeting, the Clerk circulated a report detailing balances and expenditure to date against the budget, with an estimated year end position based on planned upcoming expenditure.

This report was accepted by members.

4).   To consider and prepare a recommendation for the budget and precept for 2022/23:-

Members considered a draft budget proposal based on expected routine expenditure for 2022/23 and planned activities submitted by the relevant committees. The budget was amended slightly to reflect an earlier recommendation by the enhancements committee to scale down the Cheshire railing refurbishment, resulting in an amended draft budget of £116, 008.00.

The budget is an increase from last year and is due to a small number of one off higher cost projects which account for approximately £31,000 of the planned expenditure. These projects include the Diamond Jubilee celebrations and commemorative publications, outdoor gym provision, Cheshire railings refurbishment and planned purchase of a defibrillator for Fair Oak.

Some members observed the difference between the two budgets and a lack of consistency. The Clerk noted some areas of underspend are due to the projects where other organisations/decisions have prevented delivery. It was noted that if the outdoor gym was approved and delivered within the current budget year the expenditure for 2021/22 would increase and the budget for 2022/23 would be adjusted accordingly.

The committee resolved to recommend the draft budget of £116,008.00 for approval. It is noted there may be some small adjustments should circumstances change before the end of the current financial year, before final adoption in March.

The committee considered the cash reserves of the Council and the total income required in order to balance out the proposed budget expenditure. With regards to the precept proposal, the potential underspend in this year’s budget, factored in with other income and reserves, means that the proposed projects and ongoing routine activities can be delivered without a precept increase.

It was resolved to recommend that an unchanged precept of £82,600 be levied for 2022/23, which is a 0% increase to the Council and a 1.6% decrease to residents due to the increased tax base.

5).   Consideration of Grant Requests

The Committee considered the grant request received by Katherine House, which included details of resident numbers directly supported by the hospice. The committee resolved to recommend a grant for £1,000 is approved.

6).   Items for next meeting:-

Any items for the next meeting can be forwarded to the Clerk.

13).  Date of next meeting:-  Wednesday 2 March 2022, following the planning committee meeting.

There being no further business, the Chairman declared the meeting closed at 9.30pm.