5 December 2023 - Finance Committee
Minutes of the Ruskington Parish Council Finance Committee meeting on Tuesday
5 December 2023 at 10am at Ruskington Parish Office.
Present: Cllr O Ditch, Cllr M Trolley, Cllr D Conway, Cllr AE Jennings, Cllr L Tomlinson, Cllr C Bain (arrived at 10.07am and left at 12.30pm)
Also present: Kirsty Sinclair (Deputy Clerk & RFO), Kathryn Locke (Clerk to Council)
Apologies: Cllr S Cotter and Cllr G Cox
No members of the public or press were present.
The Chairman opened the meeting at 10.02am.
1. To appoint a Chairman for the Finance Committee for the remainder of the fiscal year.
Action: The Committee RESOILVED to appoint Cllr Ditch as the Chairman of the Finance Committee. Proposed by Cllr Trolley, seconded by Cllr Jennings and approved unanimously.
2. To receive and accept apologies where valid reasons for absence have been given to the Parish Clerk prior to the meeting.
Apologies had been received from Cllr Cotter and Cllr Cox.
Action: The Committee RESOLVED to accept Cllr Cotter and Cllr Cox’s valid apologies.
2. To receive Declarations of Interest under the Localism Act 2011- being any pecuniary interest in agenda items not previously recorded on Members’ Register of Interests.
Cllr Tomlinson declared an interest in agenda item 6.1, (fees for the Lions JFC) below, as he was a committee member for the Lions JFC).
3. To approve the Terms of Reference for the Finance Committee.
Action: The Committee RESOLVED to recommend the Terms of Reference to the Council.
4. To approve as a correct record the notes of the last meeting held on 23 March 2023.
Due to local government elections in May 2023 and a change to Council membership, only one councillor had been present at the meeting on 23 March. Therefore, the notes of the last meeting could not be approved as accurate Minutes.
At 10.07am Cllr Bain joined the meeting.
5. To review the annual investment strategy and consider any amendments required.
Action: The Committee RESOLVED to recommend the annual investment strategy to Council with no amendments.
10.10am. At this point, Cllr Tomlinson left the meeting while agenda items 6 – 6.2 below were discussed.
6. To review and revise the fees for year 2024/25 for the below: -
Work required to the sports facilities was noted and would be considered when reviewing the fees.
6.1. Sports clubs – Pavilion, MUGA, playing field and changing room hire.
Action: The Committee RESOLVED to recommend that the fees for the 20024-2025 season remain the same as for the current season.
a. Fees for the Lions JFC to use the Pavilion, pitches and pavilion kitchen.
Action: The Committee RESOLVED to keep the fees the same as the current year - £1,500 to include the use of the kitchen. A review of the hire of the pavilion to undertaken by the Recreation and Environment Committee to consider leasing the pavilion to the Lions JFC on a full repairing lease at a peppercorn rent. This would require consultation with the Lions JFC.
b. Fees for Ruskington Athletic to use the Changing Rooms and a pitch.
Action: The Committee RESOLVED to recommend the fees for Ruskington Athletic stay the same as those negotiated for the current season - £500.00 for the 2024-2025 season.
6.2. Hire of the Pavilion and Parkfield facilities for non-sporting activities.
Action: The Committee recommended no changes. The hire of the facilities to by non-sporting teams to be agreed on application, as before
Actions 6 to 6.2 above, were proposed by Cllr Trolley, seconded by Cllr Conway and approved unanimously.
Cllr Tomlinson rejoined the meeting.
6.3. Signpost magazine
The Signpost magazine cost £2,700 per annum to publish (4 issues). Despite an extensive marketing campaign, no advertisers had been found to help cover its expenses, and its outlets were requesting fewer copies.
Action: The Committee RESOLVED to recommend to Council that the spring edition of the Signpost Magazine be the last edition, with this clearly stated on the front cover. The Communication Working Party to be recommended to review how residents wished to receive council news and local information, such as by a newsletter via Mailchimp or a 4-sided newsletter as a hardcopy.
6.4. Cemetery fees
Action: The Committee RESOLVED to recommend to Council that the cemetery fees be raised in line with inflation. The age of a child for interment fee purposes to change from 12 years to 16 years. There would be no fees for interring a child aged 16 and under. Proposed by Cllr Bain, seconded by Cllr Trolley and approved unanimously.
6.5. Allotment fees
Action: The Committee RESOLVED to increase the fees to £27.50 from 1 October 2024 to reflect the increase in maintenance and water bills. Proposed by Cllr Ditch, seconded by Cllr Conway and approved unanimously.
7. To consider the updated hire fees for the Mercedes Benz Evito L2 electric van (Information previously circulated).
Five quotes had been obtained based on a mileage of 6,000 miles per annum, a forty eight month lease length, a twelve month deposit, and no service plan.
The Committee RESOLVED to recommend to Council hiring the van from Vanarama with an upfront cost of £4,655.52 and a rental cost of £384.96 per calendar month. Proposed by Cllr Jennings, seconded by Cllr Trolley and approved with five votes for and one abstention.
8. To consider the revised quotes and broadband package from BT for the office and rear offices.
Action: The Committee RESOLVED to recommend to Council the revised quote from BT for superfast broadband, dated 29 November 2023, for a 60 month term for both the office and rear of the office. Proposed by Cllr Conway, seconded by Cllr Jennings and approved with six votes for and one abstention.
9. To consider the allocation of the remaining £930.69, rounded up to £1,000, as agreed at the meeting held on 14 November 2023, from the Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) received from NKDC to council projects.
Action: The Committee RESOLVED to recommend to Council that the £1,000 be allocated to replacing the tubs beside the Beck. These would be made of recyclable materials as previously agreed. Proposed by Cllr Conway, seconded by Cllr Jennings and approved unanimously.
10. To consider the purchase of a reactive speed sign for Lincoln Road at a cost of approx. £2,500 excluding VAT (to be installed by the Road Safety Partnership) as agreed for budget consideration at the meeting held on 12 July 2022.
Action: The Committee RESOLVED to allocate a budget of £3,000 for the purchase of a reactive speed sign but would review the need and costs prior to setting the precept for the next financial year. Proposed by Cllr Trolley, seconded by Cllr Bain and approved unanimously.
11. To consider the requirements and expenditure for furnishing the office spaces at the rear of the office property.
The RFO outlined the VAT implications. VAT was charged on letting a furnished office but not on an empty office. It was not known at this time if businesses would require furnished or unfurnished offices, or if provision for hot-desking was required.
Action: The Committee RESOLVED to recommend an allocation of up to £500.00 for the purchase of two second-hand desks and two chairs. This would be reviewed in six months. Proposed by Cllr Jennings, seconded by Cllr Trolley and approved unanimously.
11.1. To consider the fees for hiring the offices spaces at the rear of the office property once the building work is completed.
The RFO advised that following research, £15 - £20 per square foot per year was the current fee for hiring an unfurnished office space within a twenty-mile radius of Ruskington, with servicing and bills included. The potential rates for the hire of the office spaces at the rear of the parish office are below:
Action: The Committee RESOLVED to recommend to Council that the fees and arrangements for booking the offices spaces be deferred to the Estate Management Committee with devolved powers of expenditure. Proposed by Cllr Ditch, seconded by Cllr Trolley and approved unanimously.
12. To consider the internal auditor for 2024/2025.
Action: The Committee RESOLVED to recommend to Council that the internal auditor be arranged via LALC. Proposed by Cllr Trolley, seconded by Cllr Conway and approved unanimously.
13. To review the quarterly financial report as prepared by the RFO. Please see Appendix A.
Prior to the meeting the RFO had circulated the financial information up to 31 September. Council was working within its budget of £265,791.00. Current spend was £130,164.23 with an underspend of £13,37.57. The remaining general reserve was £35,016.49 which equalled 6.85 weeks of running costs. Reserves had been reduced as agreed by council to pay for the renovation of the parish office and would require building up again.
At 11.32am, during the above discussion, Cllr Conway left the meeting returning at 11.34am.
14. To consider a resident’s request and quotes for Council to repair a garden fence at a property bordering Parkfield carpark.
The Clerk advised that this matter had been investigated and previously discussed by Council. The metal fence and concrete posts that had caused the damage belonged to NKDC who were aware of the issue. The resident had previously been informed by letter that the Parish Council would be taking no further action.
Action: The Committee would reiterate to Council at its next meeting that Council held no responsibility for the resident’s fence.
15. To consider the draft budget requirements for FY2024-2025 as informed by the RFO and Council’s considered projects and equipment requirements.
Information had been circulated prior to the meeting by the RFO and was also displayed at the meeting. This was discussed in detail and the RFO answered questions. One error by the Edge financial software system was noted and the ongoing issues with Edge were briefly discussed. Items for future projects as agreed by Council as previous actions were considered including: - replacing the two defibrillators, replacing the barrels beside the Beck, purchasing a digital noticeboard, purchasing new goalposts, improving the pavilion, changing rooms and playing fields, and improving the path in the Memorial Garden. Difficulties with the Edge financial software to be considered as an agenda item at the next Council meeting.
During this discussion, at 12.30pm, Cllr Bain left the meeting.
The precept calculator for 2024-2025 was not yet available. However, the RFO used the calculator for the current year to give an estimate of the precept for the next financial year which included all the council’s expenditure, enrollment into the LGPS scheme for all staff, and the quotes for projects as discussed above.
16. To resolve whether to exclude the public and press, in accordance with the Public Bodies (Admissions to Meetings) Act 1960, to discuss the following staffing matters below.
The Committee RESOLVED to move into closed session to discuss the staffing matters below. Proposed by Cllr Trolley, seconded by Cllr Tomlinson and approved unanimously.
The Chairman closed the meeting at 12.50pm and the Clerk and RFO left the meeting. The meeting re-convened at 12.51pm.
17. To review staff salary spinal points and pay for fiscal year 2024-2025.
Staff were being paid in accordance with the newly published inflationary pay rates and were all on the appropriate annual incremental spine point advancements.
18. To consider enrolment of staff members into the Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS) from 1 April 2024. (An action from the Council meeting held on 14 February 2023.)
18.1 The Clerk and RFO as local government officers with local government contracts who have previously requested this enrolment for consideration.
18.2. The Admin Assistant who was enrolled into the LGPS in their last employment and had requested continuation with this scheme be considered. (Please see letter dated 1/2/23).
18.3. All other eligible staff, following consultation.
Action: The Committee RESOLVED to consider the enrolment of staff members into the LGPS at the full council meeting on 12 December 2023.
The Clerk and RFO rejoined the meeting at 1.50pm.
19. To adjust the budget, if required, for recommending to Council at its next meeting on 12 December 2023.
During closed session the precept information and calculator for 2024-2025 had been received from NKDC. The RFO transferred the financial information onto the new calculator which reduced the precept figure from that calculated earlier in the meeting.
Action: The Council would review the draft budget and expenditure for projects and the enrolment of staff into the LGPS at the next meeting on 12 December 2023.
The Chairman closed the meeting at 2.10pm.