16 January 2024 - Finance Committee
Minutes of the Ruskington Parish Council Finance Committee meeting on Tuesday
16 January 2024 at 12 noon at Ruskington Parish Office.
Present: Cllr O Ditch, Cllr M Trolley, Cllr D Conway, Cllr AE Jennings, Cllr C Bain, Cllr Cotter
Also present: Kirsty Sinclair (Deputy Clerk & RFO), Kathryn Locke (Clerk to Council)
Apologies: Cllr G Cox, Cllr Tomlinson
No members of the public or press were present.
The Chairman opened the meeting at 12.04pm and welcomed the delegates.
1. To receive and accept apologies where valid reasons for absence have been given to the Parish Clerk prior to the meeting.
Cllr Cox and Cllr Tomlinson were unable to attend the meeting and had sent valid apologies.
Action: The Committee RESOLVED to accept the apologies from Cllr Tomlinson and Cllr Cox. Proposed by Cllr Trolley, seconded by Cllr Conway and approved unanimously.
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 Cotter declared an interest in agenda item 11, below, as she was related to a member of staff.
3. To approve as a correct record the notes of the last meeting held on 5 December 2023.
Action: The Committee RESOLVED to approve the notes of the meeting as accurate Minutes. Proposed by Cllr Conway, seconded by Cllr Trolley and approved with five votes for and one abstention (had not been present at the previous meeting).
4. To consider raising the expenditure the Clerk, or in their absence the Deputy Clerk, can authorise in an emergency. (Currently up to £1,000.)
Action: The Committee RESOLVED to recommend to Council that the emergency expenditure for the Clerk, and in their absence, the Deputy Clerk, be increased to £2,000. This was for matters affecting property, life, and process, occurring between meetings and required the authority of one councillor. The expenditure would be ratified at the next meeting. Proposed by Cllr Trolley, seconded by Cllr Jennings and approved unanimously.
5. To consider renewing the subscription to the Lincolnshire Association of Local Councils (LALC) for FY 2024-2025.
Action: The Committee RESOLVED to recommend to Council the renewal of the subscription to LALC at a cost of the expenditure of £995.08. This included the subscription to the National Association of Councils (NALC). Proposed by Cllr Ditch, seconded by Cllr Trolley and approved unanimously.
5.1. To consider renewing the subscription to the LALC training scheme for FY 2024-2025.
Action: The Committee RESOLVED to renew the subscription to the LALC training scheme at a cost of £165.00. proposed by Cllr Trolley, seconded by Cllr Cotter and approved unanimously.
6. To consider an electronic noticeboard for the office window at a cost of up to £8,000.
The current noticeboard located on the carpark at the Winchelsea Centre allows water ingress and is not large enough at times to display all items required in legislation. The PCC had advised that they were replacing their noticeboard with one to match that in the closed churchyard and asked Council if it would consider replacing its noticeboard with one of the same make.
Action: The Committee RESOLVED to recommend to Council that a budget of up to £2,500 for the replacement of the current noticeboard be considered. The Communication Working Party would research options for a new noticeboard, including the lit hanging displays used by estate agents. It was agreed that Cllr Conway would be a member of the working party. Proposed by Cllr Trolley seconded by Cllr Bain and approved unanimously.
7. To consider writing a business plan to find ways to decrease council expenditure, increase income, and assist with financial management and risk assessing for future projects.
Action: The Committee RESOLVED to recommend to Council a working party, under the direction of the Finance Committee, to create a business plan with the RFO and Clerk. Proposed by Cllr Bain, seconded by Cllr Trolley and approved unanimously.
8. To finalise the budget requirements for FY 2024-2025 for recommending to Council at its next meeting on 18 January 2024.
Updated information had been circulated prior to the meeting and was displayed at the meeting. The RFO answered questions. A couple of queries required further investigation. The budget would be finalised at the end of the meeting.
9. To finalise the precept requirements for year 2024-2025 for recommending to Council at its next meeting on 18 January 2024.
The RFO presented information based on updated information and using the precept calculator for 2024-2025 as issued by NKDC. This precept would be finalised at the end of the meeting when the Committee had agreed its recommended contribution to staff pensions.
10. 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.
Action: The Committee RESOLVED to exclude the public and press to discuss its contributions to staff pensions. Proposed by Cllr Bain, seconded by Cllr Jennings and approved unanimously.
The Chairman closed the meeting at 1.17pm. Cllr Cotter, the Clerk and RFO left the meeting. The meeting reconvened at 1.18pm.
11. To consider increasing Council’s pension contributions for all eligible staff from 1 April 2024, and agree the pension provider.
Action: The Committee RESOLVED to recommend to Council that it increased its contribution to staff pensions to 15% for each eligible employee. The enrolment to Nest pension scheme would remain in place. Employees to be advised to seek advice from Nest about increasing their own contributions, if they wished to do so, and asked to take independent financial advice before making any pension changes. Increasing the Council’s contribution further would be reviewed as part of the budget setting for 2025-2026. Proposed by Cllr Ditch, seconded by Cllr Bain and approved with four votes for and one vote against.
At 13.43pm the Clerk and RFO rejoined the meeting.
The RFO provided answers to the queries raised in Agenda item 8 above and advised that SCIS Ltd had been contacted regarding the number of Office 365 licences required for councillors and employees.
12. To adjust the budget and precept for 2024/2025 as required, for recommending to Council at its next meeting on Thursday 18 January 2024.
The budget and precept were amended to include the updated financial information and the council contribution to staff pensions.
Action: The Committee RESOLVED to recommend to Council the finalised budget and the precept for 2024-2025. A precept of £276,386.05 would be requested from NKDC. This was a 7.98% increase from the current fiscal year and equated to £11.40 per annum for Band D properties. Proposed by Cllr Ditch, seconded by Trolley and approved unanimously.
The Chairman closed the meeting at 2pm.