ECCLESHALL PARISH COUNCIL – POLICY AND RESOURCES COMMITTEE – Wednesday, March 1st 2023

A meeting of the Policy and Resources Committee was held on Wednesday, 1^st March 2023, following the Planning committee meeting, at 8.10pm.

Present were:-

Councillor P. Jones (Chair)                         Councillor R. Taylor

Councillor S. Perren                                Councillor C. Wilkins

Councillor G. Dale                                      Councillor L. Dale

Councillor A. Reid                                      Councillor J. Jones

Mrs S. J. Worden (Clerk)

No members of the Public

Observers: Cllr. D. Hill, Cllr Ryan-Bloor

1).   Apologies:- No apologies were received.

2).    Minutes of the meeting held on Wednesday January 4th 2023:-

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

3).   Budget update 2022/23 and approval of any virements and earmarking:-

Prior to the meeting, the Clerk circulated an updated report detailing balances and expenditure to date against the budget.

This report was discussed and accepted by members.

Members considered the proposed virements for 2022/23 and resolved to recommend approval of the following:

Virements (for overspend over £500)

• £1213 from Projects (4600) to Watering (4380)
• £555.33 from Salary (4000) to PAYE/NI (4010)

4).   Consideration and recommendation for the final budget 2023/24:

Members were provided with a draft budget for consideration. Minor changes had been made to reflect additional expenditure resolved since the last committee meeting and revised predictions based on confirmed service costings.

It was resolved to recommend approval of the proposed budget for 2023/24 at £107,868.00.

Members considered the proposed earmarking for 2023/24 and resolved to recommend approval of the following:

Additional Earmarking:

• £688 – to Traffic Management projects (unspent budget)
• £2,000 – to Allotments (rents and general reserves)
• £660 – Elections (accumulated reserves for 4 yearly charges)
• £1,000 – to Community Centre (general reserves)

5).   To provide an update to the bank account signatory changes

The proposed changes to add Cllrs. Reid and Taylor as signatories and remove Cllr. L. Dale have now been completed.

6).   To consider and recommend adoption of a Persistent or Vexatious Complaints Policy

Members considered the draft policy, written in line with templates provided by national bodies, and resolved to recommend its adoption.

7).   To receive the latest update from the Public Sector Deposit Fund

The update was received and noted by members.

8).   Consideration of Grant Requests:

No grant requests had been received by the date the agenda had been issued. A grant application from Eccleshall Cricket Club had been received prior to the meeting but will need to be considered within the next budgetary year as the 2022/23 grant budget has been fully allocated.

9).   Items for next meeting:-

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

10).  Date of next meeting:-  Wednesday 7^th June 2023, following the Enhancements committee meeting.

There being no further business, the Chairman declared the meeting closed at 8.30pm.