7 January 2025 - DRAFT Finance Committee
Minutes of the Ruskington Parish Council Finance Committee meeting on Tuesday 7 January 2025 at 6.30pm at Ruskington Parish Office.
Present: Cllr O Ditch (Chairman of the Committee), Cllr S Cotter, Cllr G Cox, Cllr Trolley
In attendance: Kirsty Sinclair (Deputy Clerk & RFO), Kathryn Locke (Clerk to Council)
One member of the public was present.
The Chairman opened the meeting at 6.30pm and welcomed the delegates and the member of the public.
1. To receive and accept apologies where valid reasons for absence have been given to the Parish Clerk prior to the meeting.
Cllr Bain had been unable to attend the meeting and had sent valid apologies.
Action: The Committee RESOLVED to accept Cllr Bain’s apologies. Proposed by Cllr Trolley, seconded by Cllr Cotter and approved unanimously.
2. To receive declarations of interest and to consider applications for dispensations in relation to DPIs.
Cllr Cotter declared an interest in any discussions related to staff pay or pensions, as she was related to a staff member. Although pay and pensions were not itemised agenda items, both were included within the overall budget and precept setting.
3. To approve as a correct record the notes of the last meeting held on 1 October 2024.
Action: The Committee RESOLVED to approve the notes of the meeting as accurate Minutes. Proposed by Cllr Trolley, seconded by Cllr Cox and approved unanimously.
The Chairman signed the Minutes.
4. To receive a financial update from the RFO.
The RFO presented a short report and answered questions. There had been a slight overspend on the budget to pay for the post-renovation cleaning of the rear offices and other one-off payments. The electric bills were being reviewed by the RFO and Positive Energy were inspecting (and possibly replacing) the electric metre on 16 January 2025. Virgin Media had yet to pay £500 towards the Christmas trees, as promised.
5. To receive information from NKDC regarding Section 106 money (public open space contribution) from the Flaxwell Fields housing development.
Information had been circulated prior to the meeting. The contribution from the developer was £189711.3 for the provision of formal playing fields in the land immediately adjacent to the development site. The Parish Council had 10 years (until 11/12/2034) to claim the money. NKDC was aware that Council would not be able to provide playing fields adjacent to the site, as the land was earmarked for a housing development. NKDC had suggested that formal playing fields at another site or additional capacity at another site may be acceptable depending on what was proposed, and recommended that Council submit a project idea to NKDC for its review and feedback prior to making any formal claim. The Clerk in conversation with NKDC had been advised that the renovation of the pavilion or the purchasing of land to provide a green open space sustainable habitat would not be eligible projects.
5.1. To consider projects for the Section 106 money for recommending to Council at its meeting on 14 January 2024. (The money to be released from NKDC by 11/12/2034.)
Action: The Committee RESOLVED to recommend to Council at its meeting on 14 January 2024 that a project plan to install a path and trim-trail around the perimeter of the north and south playing fields at Parkfield be submitted to NKDC for its review and feedback. This would provide an additional, accessible, and child-friendly facility for promoting activity and exercise and would tie in with the NKDC’s proposed Active Travel Strategy to improve walking, wheeling and cycling within and around communities. Proposed by Cllr Cox, seconded by Cllr Trolley and approved unanimously.
6. To review the Council’s three-year action plan for informing the 2025-2026 budget.
This had been circulated prior to the meeting and the Clerk gave an overview of projects and expenditure approved by Council and proposed projects for the next three years.
7. To consider/ agree the budget requirements for FY2025-2026 for recommending to Council at its next meeting on 14 January 2025.
The draft budget was reviewed and amended as required. The RFO had made a few amendments since the last meeting as costs for subscription fees and other costs had been made known to Council.
Action: The Committee RESOLVED to recommend the revised budget for FY 2025-2026 to Council at its meeting on 14 January 2025. Proposed by Cllr Trolley, seconded by Cllr Cotter and approved unanimously.
8. To consider/agree the precept requirements for year 2025-2026 for recommending to Council at its next meeting on 14 January 2025.
NKDC had provided the precept calculator for FY 2025-2026, and this was used at the meeting during the budget and precept setting.
The precept request to NKDC would be £295,033.00. This was an increase of £18,647.00 (5.29 %) from the current fiscal year. This equated to an increase of £8.17 per annum for Band D and equivalent properties.
Action: The Committee RESOLVED to recommend the agreed precept to Council at its meeting on 14 January 2025. Proposed by Cllr Trolley, seconded by Cllr Cotter and approved unanimously.
The Chairman closed the meeting at 7.12pm.