MINUTES of the Finance Committee meeting held in the upstairs meeting room, Red Lion Hotel, Ash Brow, Newburgh on Thursday, 13th January 2011 commencing at 10.30am.

PRESENT Cllrs. R.E. Porter, Chairman, Mrs C. Gillard and C.D. Moore.
Mr B. Howard, Clerk of the Council.

1.
APOLOGIES were received from Cllrs. Mrs Citarella and Mrs Richardson, not members of the Committee.

2.
DECLARATION OF INTERESTS.
Cllr. Porter declared a personal and prejudicial interest in concurrent contributions in that his wife receives payment for village cleaning from this source.

3.
SPENDING PLANS AND BUDGET 2011/12.
The discussions centred on the Appendices attached to the Agenda, which were examined and understood. The Committee agreed that the general thrust of the budget must be to either hold expenditure to the level of the previous year or minimise any increase.
No confirmation has been received that the lower level of estimate for the Christmas tree arrangements will apply, as the invoice is not yet to hand. However, there is no alternative but to accept the position and if cost levels prove higher than expected, the remainder will have to be funded from Reserves.
The following were examined: -
Website management.
Any increase, which will be a minimal amount, to be covered from Reserves.
SPID handling.
Any increase, which will be a minimal amount, to be covered from Reserves.
Election planning.
Consider building fund in Reserves from 2012/13.
IT equipment.
Consider building fund in Reserves from 2012/13.
Clerk’s salary.
Advice has not yet been received in respect of new salary scales, therefore, it was agreed to raise payment by 1%, £50, to be deferred until confirmation is received.
Donations.
It was agreed not to make a general provision for donations. However, The Grove, Burs cough, has already requested some funding for young people’s activities and the Parish Council responded by advising that their request would be considered in due course. As young people from Newburgh benefit from The Grove facilities and no other funding support is provided by the Parish Council for this type of activity, it was agreed to include £73 in the budget specifically for The Grove.
Cobbs Brow Lane Play Area equipment.
It was accepted that some expenditure will be necessary to remove the redundant equipment and/or making the site safe. Whilst an estimate of £1000 has already been received to carry out this work, some revision of requirement may be possible in order to reduce this cost. However, escaping a cost commitment was not possible and it was agreed to include £450 in the budget towards the cost of this project.
Clerk’s gratuity.
It is estimated that on retirement, the Clerk would be entitled to about £900 gratuity. Financial provision has not yet been made; therefore, it was agreed to “ring fence” £300 contribution from the amount held in Reserves at year ending 31st March 2011. In future years consideration will again need to be made on the source of funding.  i.e. Precept or Reserves.

The Council is asked to approve the Budget for 2011/12 at £10545, which is £500 above that for 2010/11, see Column 3 of Appendix B attached.

 3.
SPENDING PLANS AND BUDGET 2011/12 continued.
Cllr. Porter did not take part in the discussions on concurrent contributions.
WLBC has confirmed that the concurrent contributions will remain as last year at £1845. In light of the excellent work undertaken by the Village Assistant, it was agreed to increase payment from £58 to £60 per month, a rise which can be accommodated within them concurrent funding level..

4.
LEVEL OF PRECEPT 2011/12.
The level of Reserves and Balances causes some concern, see Appendix D attached, which shows £3120 available next fiscal year for emergency and unplanned expenditure.
Consideration was given to building up the Reserves from 2011/12 through an element in the Precept but it was decided not to recommend this line of action but to live with the level available but monitor funds carefully during the year.
Holding an Open Gardens Day during 2011 would produce an invaluable amount for Council funds but it was agreed this would not be appropriate unless revenue could be placed against a particular project. The one possibility would be to use such funds to improve the appearance of the village environment. There is no doubt, for example, street furniture is overdue for maintenance.

The Council is asked to consider this matter.

The Council is asked to approve the Precept for 2011/12 at £10545 to reflect expenditure contained in the Budget. This is an increase of 5%  over last year, see Appendix C for precept history (note £500 increase represents about £1 per household per annum.)

The increase can be justified specifically to increase the salary of the Clerk and support the commitment to close the Cobbs Brow Lane Play Area and subsequently remove the equipment. In general terms the increase can be substantiated by the fact that increases have been kept to an absolute minimum for some time and concurrent funding has not been increased but commitments remain the same.