7 July 2026 - DRAFT Finance & Strategy Committee
Minutes of the Ruskington Parish Council Finance Committee meeting on Tuesday 7 July 2026 at 6.30pm at Ruskington Parish Office.
Present: Cllr O Ditch (Chairman of the Committee), Cllr D Conway, Cllr B Harrison, Cllr Trolley, Cllr Bain (from 6.51pm).
In attendance: Kirsty Sinclair (Deputy Clerk & RFO), Kathryn Locke (Clerk to Council)
No members of the public or press were present.
The Chairman opened the meeting at 6.34pm.
1. To receive and accept apologies where valid reasons for absence had been given to the Parish Clerk prior to the meeting.
Cllr Bain was not present, and no apologies had been received.
2. To receive declarations of interest and to consider applications for dispensations in relation to DPIs.
No declarations were made at this time.
3. To approve as a correct record the notes of the last meeting held on Tuesday 28 April 2026.
Action: The Committee RESOLVED to approve the notes of the last meeting as accurate Minutes. Proposed by Cllr Harrison, seconded by Cllr Trolley and approved with three votes for and one abstention.
The Chairman signed the Minutes.
4. To consider the Terms of Reference for the Finance & Strategy Committee, if available.
This was reviewed and a minor revision was agreed and made.
Action: The Committee RESOLVED to recommend the revised Terms of Reference for the committee to Council at its next meeting. Proposed by Cllr Trolley, seconded by Cllr Harrison and approved unanimously.
5. Finances.
Information had been circulated prior to the meeting.
5.1. To receive a quarterly finance report from the RFO
The RFO advised that Council was working within its budget. A couple of expected minor overspends had occurred due to the annual payment of subscriptions and the purchasing of uniform and PPE for a new caretaker. The RFO answered questions.
5.2. To undertake the quarterly review of the budget and reserves.
The budget and reserves were scrutinised and the RFO answered questions.
During this discussion, Cllr Bain joined the meeting at 6.51pm.
Action: The Committee RESOLVED to recommend to Council, that the reserves remain unaltered. The RFO to find out if council tax had to be paid for the pavilion whilst it was closed for renovation works. Reserves for the fiscal year 2027-2028 would include ringfenced reserves and budget lines
for approved projects and maintenance, such as play areas and play equipment. Proposed by Cllr Trolley, seconded by Cllr Conway and approved unanimously.
6. To consider the expenditure for the following
6.1. Speed limit signs (£20.00 each, minimum order of £50.00)
The Clerk had obtained information and costs from the Road Safety Partnership and this had been circulated prior to the meeting.
Action: The Committee RESOLVED to purchase 10 passive speed watch signs that the Council could erect themselves at a cost of £200.00. Proposed by Cllr Conway, seconded by Cllr Harrison and approved unanimously.
6.2. Tree inspection training course for the Environment Caretaker (£450.00) as recommended by the Environment & Estate Committee at its meeting held on 30 June 2026.
The RFO advised that £400.00 remained in the budget for training.
Action: The Committee RESOLVED that the Environment Caretaker attend the tree inspection training course at a cost of £450.00. Proposed by Cllr Trolley, seconded by Cllr Bain and approved unanimously.
6.3. To consider using CIL for the community garden to further develop the project.
It was noted that the use of the garden had changed since the plans were developed four years ago and the garden was now increasingly being used for community events.
Action: The Committee RESOLVED that Cllr Harrison would meet with the Environment Caretaker to review the plans for the garden and to explore how plans might be adjusted to accommodate both a community garden and events. The Events Committee would consider the updated plans and explore costs for installing electricity and water to service the area of garden leased from the Co-op. Proposed by Cllr Harrison, seconded by Cllr Trolley and approved unanimously.
6.4. To consider the costs of using a new compliant website provider that is more user friendly to meet the needs of Council from 1 April 2027.
The Admin Assistant had undertaken research on this, and a matrix of information and costs had been shared prior to the meeting.
Action: The Committee RESOLVED to recommend to Council that a change to the website provider Aubergine be considered in the budget for fiscal year 2027-2028, at a cost of £199.00 per annum, and to research the costs of additional modules such as event management, tickets sales and facility bookings. Proposed by Cllr Harrison, seconded by Cllr Trolley and approved unanimously.
7. To review current projects.
The three-year business plan had been circulated prior to the meeting.
7.1. To discuss how projects and the budget structure will function for FY 2027-2028 and onwards.
Action: A clear plan for projects and budget setting was required and Committees needed to know what areas they were responsible for. Committees were to undertake research, consultations, and obtain costs before proposing a project to the Finance Committee to inform the initial budget setting meeting in November. Once Council had agreed the budget, Committees could spend within their annual budget on approved projects and items without the need for further resolutions by committee or Council.
7.2. To consider any projects and costs to inform the budget for FY 2027-2028.
The following projects were discussed:
Upgrading Hillside play area, a new surface for Beck Close play area, speed indicator devices (approx. £2,500), the new Aubergine website (approx. £200.00 per annum), installing electricity and water to the community garden, installing and external electricity socket and outdoor tap at the pavilion (if this could not be included in the renovation), improving the changing rooms (with funding), the overflow car park at Parkfield (as this was unlikely to be completed as part of the pavilion tender due to costs), bus shelters and benches.
Committees to explore and cost projects relevant to their roles.
8. To confirm the date of the next scheduled committee meeting as 3 November 2026 at 6.30pm at the Parish Office (review of grant applications and commence budget setting for FY 2027-2028.
Action: The Committee confirmed the date of the next scheduled meeting as 3 November 2026.
8.1. To consider if any committee meetings or working party meetings are required before 3 November 2026.
The RFO recommended that a committee meeting be held prior to the meeting on 3 November 2026. A date was to be agreed as required.
9. To resolve whether to exclude the public and press, in accordance with the Public Bodies (Admissions to Meetings) Act 1960, to discuss the following commercially sensitive matter below.
Action: The Committee RESOLVED to exclude the public and press from the meeting. Proposed by Cllr Ditch, seconded by Cllr Trolley and approved unanimously.
The Chairman closed the meeting at 7.59pm. The meeting re-convened at 7.59pm.
10. To receive an update on the tender for Parkfield Pavilion and agree any actions and expenditure.
Cllr Conway gave an overview of the tender applications.
Action: A recommendation for the contractor to undertake the work and the costs would be made to Council at its meeting on 14 July 2026 for its consideration.
The Chairman closed the meeting at 8.09pm.