Issue - meetings

To recommend to Council that:

a.    the East Herts share of Council Tax for a band D in 2020/21 be set at £174.09;

b.    the updated position on the Medium Term Financial Plan and Budget for 2020/21 including the budget pressures and risks be approved;

c.     the new savings and income generating proposals for 2020/21 onwards as shown in Appendix ‘B’ be approved;

d.    the Capital Programme as set out in Appendix ‘C‘ be implemented;

e.    the schedule of charges set out in Appendix ‘D’, each with an average increase of 2.5% for 2020/21, be approved; and

f.       that authority to determine the most appropriate amendments to car parking charges to achieve the increased income included in the MTFP be delegated to the Head of Operations acting in consultation with the Head of Strategic Finance and Property and the Executive Member for Environmental Sustainability.

The Executive considered a report by the Executive Member for Financial Sustainability on the Medium Term Financial Plan for 2020/21 – 2023/24. 

Councillor Williamson introduced the report.  He said there was a budget gap and therefore much work had been undertaken to identify savings proposals.  He highlighted the main points in the report, including the fact that the new homes bonus had been scaled back; the fact that the Council would propose increasing its share of the Council Tax by £5 per year; and that fees and charges would increase by 2.5%, which was generally in line with inflation.  The budget took account of additional income from Millstream and the acquisitions made by the Financial Sustainability Committee.  These latter sources of income illustrated the real need for reliance on such initiatives. 

Councillor Williamson proposed a further recommendation, in addition to those set out in the report, that authority to determine the most appropriate amendments to car parking charges to achieve the increased income included in the MTFP be delegated to the Head of Operations, acting in consultation with the Head of Strategic Finance and Property and the Executive Member for Environmental Sustainability. 

Councillor Haysey proposed and Councillor Williamson seconded, a motion supporting recommendations a) to e) in the report and new recommendation f).  The motion being put to the meeting, and a vote taken, it was declared CARRIED. 

RECOMMENDED – that (A) the East Herts share of Council Tax for a band D in 2020/21 be set at £174.09;

(B)        the updated position on the Medium Term Financial Plan and Budget for 2020/21 including the budget pressures and risks be approved;

(C)        the new savings and income generating proposals for 2020/21 onwards as shown in Appendix ‘B’ be approved;

(D)       the Capital Programme as set out in Appendix ‘C‘ be implemented;

(E)        the schedule of charges set out in Appendix ‘D’, each with an average increase of 2.5% for 2020/21, be approved; and

(F)         that authority to determine the most appropriate amendments to car parking charges to achieve the increased income included in the MTFP be delegated to the Head of Operations acting in consultation with the Head of Strategic Finance and Property and the Executive Member for Environmental Sustainability.

The Interim Head of Strategic Finance and Property and Section 151 Officer presented the report and acknowledged all the work that relevant officers had put into the plan. Because of this work and well-debated proposals, it was possible to recommend a well-balanced Medium Term Financial Plan for 2020/21 – 2023/24.

The Interim Head of Strategic Finance and Property and Section 151 Officer referred to certain specific recommendations in the report and noted the following: the Government had lifted the freeze on Council Tax as they wanted local government to be more self-reliant and not depend too much on central grants; the Fair Funding review by the Government had not yet been concluded, and certain assumptions therefore had to be made, which were done with the help of an external consultancy; and the proposed Capital Programme was affordable for EHC.

The Interim Head of Strategic Finance and Property and Section 151 Officer noted that the Council’s revenue budget consisted of five major “building blocks”, which were detailed in the report.

With reference to the New Homes Bonus, the Interim Head of Strategic Finance and Property and Section 151 Officer stated that while the Council had benefitted from this, there was concern about the demise of the bonus. The Government followed a path of gradual reductions and the amount payable was only guaranteed for one more year with no legacy payments and would probably disappear after the Fair Funding review had been concluded. It should also be borne in mind that the bonus would no longer be available to be shared with town and parish councils.

The Interim Head of Strategic Finance and Property and Section 151 Officer specifically thanked the former Head of Strategic Finance and Property (Isabel Brittain) for her work in preparing the budget and engaging the various stakeholders.

Councillor L Corpe referred to the proposed funding cuts to the Citizens’ Advice Services and Community Voluntary Services and said that while this might look like a saving up front, the Council would be “shooting itself in the foot” as this may lead to problems in the future. These organisations could not change their funding streams and while the proposed funding cut seemed very small, it would have a big impact on their services. He requested that the proposed cuts should rather be scrapped or phased-in more gradually; an increase in parking fees could possibly be considered to make up for this. The proposed cuts also did not correspond with the objective in the draft Corporate Plan to support vulnerable residents.

Councillor A Curtis noted that while he agreed that these were valuable services, these organisations have known about the proposed cuts for some time.

Councillor J Burmicz said it was also a false economy to reduce the funding of PCSOs as they provided a vital service in all communities. The Chairman noted that the funding for PCSO’s came from the Police budget and Councillor A Curtis advised that the Hertford Constabulary were not bound by the EHC budget; they  ...  view the full minutes text for item 300