ECCLESHALL PARISH COUNCIL – POLICY AND RESOURCES COMMITTEE – Wednesday, December 6^th 2023

A meeting of the Policy and Resources Committee was held on Wednesday, 6^th December 2023, following the Enhancements committee meeting, at 8.20pm.

Present were:-

Councillor R. Taylor (Chair)                        Councillor D. Hall

Councillor L. Dale                                           Councillor C. Wilkins

Councillor G. Dale

Mrs S. J. Worden (Clerk)

No members of the Public

Observer: Cllrs. A. Reid and M. Gosling

1).   Apologies:- Apologies were received from Councillors Jones and Perren.

2).    Minutes of the meeting held on Wednesday September 6^th 2023:-

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

3).   Budget update 2023/24:-

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.

4).   Consideration and recommendation for the budget and associated precept 2024/25:

Members were provided with a draft budget and a document detailing a number of options with regards to the precept and how it would affect the Council’s financial position. The budget incorporated some adjustments for expected increased costs but there were reductions in other areas to balance this out. The main change was the incorporation of £8,000 in anticipation of acquiring a lease for Beech Road. As any plans will need to be formed in consultation with the community and were yet unknown this is noted to be an initial conservative figure. A large refurbishment would require significant additional grant funding and further budget allocation. It was also noted that recent recommendations such as planned expenditure of £2,500 in the prior Enhancements committee meeting is not in the current budget.  The draft budget presented was £115,545.00 with a decrease in EMR of approximately £14K in line with business plan recommendations.

Members discussed the precept options and it was noted that in the current financial climate, the council has continued to prudently plan and use reserves to buffer the effect of inflation for the residents whilst still maintaining a reserve within recommended guidelines.

Based on the proposed budget, it was resolved to recommend a precept of £83,300 be levied for 2024/25. Whilst this is a slight increase of 0.4% in income, due to an increased tax base (number of taxable households) the net increase to residents will be 0%.

5).   To receive any updates to the Business Plan review

The working group will be meeting on Monday 11^th December and will feed back in due course.

6).    Consideration of Grant Requests:

There were no grant applications for consideration.  The grant fund has been advertised in the winter newsletter and will be advertised on social media to encourage applications before the end of the current financial year.

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

The update was received and noted by members.

8).   Items for next meeting:-

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

9).  Date of next meeting:-  Wednesday 6^th March 2024, following the planning committee meeting.

There being no further business, the Chairman declared the meeting closed at 8.40pm.