Agenda item

(a)          (Finance Portfolio Holder) To consider the attached report; and

 

(b)          To hold a recorded vote on the recommendations contained within the report, in accordance with the Council Procedure Rules V3 ‘Voting on Budget/Council Tax’  which directs Members to comply with the Local Authorities (Standing Orders) (England) (Amendment) Regulations 2014, immediately after any vote is taken at a budget decision meeting there must be recorded in the minutes of the proceedings of that meeting the names of the persons who cast a vote for the decision or against the decision or who abstained from voting.

 

“Budget decision” means a meeting at which:

 

(a)        a calculation is made (whether originally or by way of substitute) in accordance with any of the Sections 31A, 31B, 34 to 36A, 42A, 42B, 45 to 49, 52ZF, 52ZJ of the Local Government Finance Act 1992, as amended; or

 

(b)        a precept is issued under Chapter 4 of Part 1 of that Act,

 

and includes a meeting where making the calculation or issuing the precept as the case may be was included as an item of business on the agenda for that meeting.

 

References to a vote are references to a vote not only on the substantive budget motions agreeing the budget, setting council taxes or issuing precepts, but also on any amendments proposed at the meeting.

Mover: Councillor C Whitbread on behalf of Finance Portfolio Holder

 

Councillor C Whitbread presented a report on the Budget and Council Tax Declarations 2017/18.

 

Councillor S Stavrou requested that Members thanks for an excellent budget to the Director of Resources, Assistant Director (Accountancy), Finance Officers and Portfolio Holder for Finance be noted.

 

Amendment moved by Councillor J Knapman and seconded by Councillor C Whitbread

 

That an additional recommendation (13) be added;

 

‘(13)     That there was 0% increase in the District Council’s precept for 2017/18.’

 

Carried

 

There voted for the recommendations as amended: (40) namely: N Avey, R Baldwin, R Bassett, A Beales, N Bedford, R Brookes, R Butler, R Gadsby, S Heap, L Hughes, B Jennings, J Jennings, H Kane, S Kane, H Kauffman, J Knapman, J Lea, A Lion, M McEwen, R Morgan, S Neville, A Patel, J Philip, C C Pond, C P Pond, C Roberts, D Roberts, B Sandler, M Sartin, G Shiell, D Stallan, S Stavrou, B Surtees, G Waller, E Webster, C Whitbread, H Whitbread, J H Whitehouse, J M Whitehouse and D Wixley.

 

            RESOLVED:

 

(1)        That the list of CSB growth and savings for the 2017/18 budget (Annex 1) be approved;

 

(2)    That the list of District Development Fund and Invest to Save items for the 2017/18 budget (Annexes 2 and 3) be approved;

 

(3)    That the revenue estimates for 2017/18 and the draft Capital Programme for 2017/18 be approved as set out in Annexes 4, 5 (a-f) and 6 including all contributions to and from reserves as set out in the attached Annexes;

 

(4)    That the medium term financial strategy be approved as set out in Annexes 9 a and 9 b;

 

(5)    That the 2017/18 HRA budget be approved on the basis that the contribution to the self-financing reserve continues to be suspended, and that the application of rent  decreases resulting in an average decrease of 1% from £97.14 to £96.17, be approved;

 

(6)    That the Council's policy of retaining revenue balances at no lower than £4.0M or 25% of the net budget requirement whichever is the higher for the four year period to 2019/20 be amended to no lower than £4.0M or 25% of the net budget requirement whichever is the higher during the four year period up to and including 2020/21;

 

(7)    That the report of the Chief Financial Officer on the robustness of the estimates for the purposes of the Council’s 2017/18 budgets and the adequacy of the reserves (Annex 10) be noted.

 

Declaration of Council Tax

 

(8)    That it be noted that under delegated authority the Director of Resources, in consultation with the Finance Portfolio Holder, calculated the Council Tax Base 2017/18:

 

(a)        for the whole Council area as 53,029.2 (Item T in the formula in Section 31B of the Local Government Finance Act 1992, as amended); and

 

(b)          for dwellings in those parts of its area to which a Parish precept relates as set out below and in Annex 7.

 

Tax Base

                                                                                                                                                     

Abbess, Beauchamp & Berners Roding                                                              217.0

Buckhurst Hill                                                                                                    5,174.3

Chigwell                                                                                                            6,035.6

Epping Town                                                                                                     5,218.1

Epping Upland                                                                                                     405.9

Fyfield                                                                                                                  421.0

High Ongar                                                                                                          555.1

Lambourne                                                                                                           870.8

Loughton Town                                                                                               12,294.8

Matching                                                                                                              428.9

Moreton, Bobbingworth and The Lavers                                                             577.6

Nazeing                                                                                                             2,042.7

North Weald Bassett                                                                                         2,524.8

Ongar                                                                                                                2,695.6

Roydon                                                                                                             1,307.1

Sheering                                                                                                            1,330.8

Stanford Rivers                                                                                                    356.4

Stapleford Abbotts                                                                                               519.3

Stapleford Tawney                                                                                                78.7

Theydon Bois                                                                                                    1,983.9

Theydon Garnon                                                                                                    79.6

Theydon Mount                                                                                                    115.8

Waltham Abbey Town                                                                                                  7,559.2

Willingale                                                                                                              236.2

 

(9)   That the following amounts be calculated for the year 2017/18 in accordance with sections 31 to 36 of the Local Government Finance Act 1992:

 

(a)        £134,772,924 being the aggregate of the amounts which the Council estimates for the items set out in Section 31A(2) of the Act taking into account all precepts issued to it by Parish Councils;

 

(b)        £123,522,590 being the aggregate of the amounts which the Council estimates for the items set out in Section 31A(3) of the Act;

 

(c)        £11,250,334 being the amount by which the aggregate at 9 (a) above exceeds the aggregate at 9 (b) above, calculated by the Council in accordance with Section 31A(4) of the Act as its Council Tax  requirement for the year. (Item R in the formula in Section 31B of the Act);

 

            (d)        £212.15 being the amount at 9 (c) above (Item R), all divided by Item T (the amount at 8 (a) above), calculated by the Council, in accordance with Section 31B of the Act, as the basic amount of its Council Tax for the year (including Parish precepts);

 

(e)        £3,361,180 being the aggregate amount of all special items (Parish precepts) referred to in Section 34(1) of the Act (Annex 7);

 

(f)        £148.77 being the amount at 9 (d) above less the result given by dividing the amount at 9 (e) above by Item T (8 (a) above), calculated by the Council, in accordance with Section 34(2) of the Act, as the basic amount of its Council Tax for the year for dwellings in those parts of its area to which no Parish precept relates.

 

(10)That it be noted that the County Council, the Police Authority and the Fire Authority have issued precepts to the Council in accordance with Section 40 of the Local Government Finance Act 1992 for each of the category of dwellings  in the Council’s area as shown in Annex 8;

 

(11) That the Council, in accordance with Sections 30 and 36 of the Local Government Finance Act 1992, hereby sets the aggregate amounts in Annex 8 Part B as the amounts of Council Tax for 2017/18 for each part of its area and for each of the categories of dwellings.

 

(12) That in accordance with section 52ZB of the Local Government Finance Act 1992, Council determines that the amount of Council Tax shown at (9) (f) of £148.77 for 2017/18, being unchanged from 2016/17 is not excessive and therefore there is no need to hold a local referendum.

 

(13) That there was 0% increase in the District Council’s precept for 2017/18.