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 Rule 17.6 ‘Voting at Budget Decision Meetings’ 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.

 

Councillor Stavrou presented a report on an additional DDF budget to be added to the Council Budget for Town and Parish Councils affected by major preceptors that had not been updated on the final taxbase figure.  

 

There voted for the recommendation: (44) namely: Councillors Boyce, Webster, Adams, Brady, Breare-Hall, Butler, Chambers, Dorrell, Gadsby, Girling, Gode, Grigg, Jennings, Kane, Kauffman, Keska, Knapman, Lea, Lion, McEwen, Mead, Mohindra, Morgan, Murray, Neville, Philip, C C Pond, C P Pond, Roberts, Sandler, Sartin, Shiell, Stallan, Stavrou, Surtees, Thomas, Wagland, Waller, Watson, Weston, Whitbread, J H Whitehouse, J M Whitehouse and Wixley.

 

Report as first moved ADOPTED

 

            RESOLVED:

 

(1)          That a DDF budget of £5,543 be added to the budgets considered by Cabinet on 2 February.

 

Carried

 

Councillor Stavrou presented a report on budget and Council Tax Declaration 2015/16.

 

Amendment moved by J M Whitehouse and Seconded by B Surtees.

 

There voted for the recommendation: (7) namely: Adams, Gode, Murray, Neville, Surtees, J H Whitehouse and J M Whitehouse.

 

There voted against the recommendation: (37) namely: Councillors Boyce, Webster, Brady, Breare-Hall, Butler, Chambers, Dorrell, Gadsby, Girling, Grigg, Jennings, Kane, Kauffman, Keska, Knapman, Lea, Lion, McEwen, Mead, Mohindra, Morgan, Philip, C C Pond, C P Pond, Roberts, Sandler, Sartin, Shiell, Stallan, Stavrou, Thomas, Wagland, Waller, Watson, Weston, Whitbread and Wixley.

 

(1)        That the Neighbourhoods Off Street Parking - Parking Fee Increases (£95,000) in 2015/16 be replaced with (£82,000) through not implementing weekend parking charges and therefore amending the total CSB savings in 2015/16 from (£573,000) to (£560,000) set out in Annex 1 be added to recommendation 1;

 

(2)        That the Chief Executive Transformation Programme of £75,000 in 2015/16 be deleted from Annex 2 and Communities Grants to Voluntary Organisations Maintenance of £17,000 be included in Annex 2 for 2015/16 and 2016/17 decreasing the DDF in 2015/16 to £1,071,000 and increasing it to £548,000 in 2016/17 be added to recommendation 2; and

 

(3)        That consequential amendments be made to annex 3, 4 and 8 to include DDF balances reducing by £1,071,000 and contribution from balances in 2015/16 increasing to £55,000.

 

Lost

 

There voted for the recommendation: (43) namely:  Councillors Boyce, Webster, Adams, Brady, Breare-Hall, Butler, Chambers, Dorrell, Gadsby, Girling, Gode, Grigg, Jennings, Kane, Kauffman, Keska, Knapman, Lea, Lion, McEwen, Mead, Mohindra, Morgan, Neville, Philip, C C Pond, C P Pond, Roberts, Sandler, Sartin, Shiell, Stallan, Stavrou, Surtees, Thomas, Wagland, Waller, Watson, Weston, Whitbread, J H Whitehouse, J M Whitehouse and Wixley.

 

There voted against the recommendation: (1) Murray.

                                               

Report as first moved ADOPTED

 

RESOLVED:

 

(1)          That the list of CSB growth and savings for the 2015/16 budget (set out in Annex 1 to these minutes) be approved;

 

(2)          That the list of District Development Fund items for the 2015/16 budget (set out in Annex 2 to these minutes) be approved;

 

(3)          That the revenue estimates for 2015/16 and the draft Capital Programme for 2015/16 be approved as set out in Annexes 3, 4 (a-g) and 5 to these minutes including all contributions to and from reserves as set out in the attached Annexes;

 

(4)          That the Medium Term Financial Forecast be approved as set out in Annexes 8 a and 8 b to these minutes;

 

(5)          That the 2015/16 HRA budget be approved and that the application of rent increases and decreases resulting in an average increase of 2.2% from £95.44 to £97.54, be approved;

 

(6)          That £0.5 million be moved from the General Fund Reserve to create a new Earmarked Reserve that will be used for Invest to Save projects be approved;

 

(7)          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 2017/18 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 2018/19;

 

(8)          That the report of the Chief Financial Officer on the robustness of the estimates for the purposes of the Council’s 2015/16 budgets and the adequacy of the reserves (Annex 9 attached to these minutes) be noted.

 

Declaration of Council Tax

 

(9)          That it be noted that under delegated authority the Director of Resources, in consultation with the Finance Portfolio Holder, calculated the Council Tax Base 2015/16:

 

(a)          for the whole Council area as 51,196.3 (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 6 attached to these minutes:

 

	Tax Base
Abbess, Beauchamp & Berners Roding	207.7
Buckhurst Hill	5,028.5
Chigwell	5,874.3
Epping Town	4,885.6
Epping Upland	401.1
Fyfield	407.9
High Ongar	541.0
Lambourne	829.7
Loughton Town	11,927.6
Matching	421.1
Moreton, Bobbingworth and The Lavers	546.8
Nazeing	1,990.5
North Weald Bassett	2,441.3
Ongar	2,618.9
Roydon	1,265.9
Sheering	1,290.0
Stanford Rivers	348.0
Stapleford Abbotts	509.5
Stapleford Tawney	79.3
Theydon Bois	1,953.6
Theydon Garnon	76.4
Theydon Mount	111.7
Waltham Abbey Town	7,212.8
Willingale	227.1

 

(10)        That the following amounts be calculated for the year 2015/16 in accordance with sections 31 to 36 of the Local Government Finance Act 1992:

 

(a)          £123,646,699 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)          £112,870,550 being the aggregate of the amounts which the Council estimates for the items set out in Section 31A(3) of the Act;

 

(c)          £10,776,149 being the amount by which the aggregate at 10 (a) above exceeds the aggregate at 10 (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)        £210.49 being the amount at 10 (c) above (Item R), all divided by Item T (the amount at 9 (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)          £3,159,675 being the aggregate amount of all special items (Parish precepts) referred to in Section 34(1) of the Act (as per the attached Annex 6);

 

(f)           £148.77 being the amount at 10 (d) above less the result given by dividing the amount at 10 (e) above by Item T (9 (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;

 

(11)        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 7 attached to these minutes;

 

(12)        That the Council, in accordance with Sections 30 and 36 of the Local Government Finance Act 1992, hereby sets the aggregate amounts in Annex 7 Part B (tabled) as the amounts of Council Tax for 2015/16 for each part of its area and for each of the categories of dwellings; and

 

(13)        That in accordance with section 52ZB of the Local Government Finance Act 1992, Council determines that the amount of Council Tax shown at (10) (f) of £148.77 for 2015/16, being unchanged from 2014/15 is not excessive and therefore there is no need to hold a local referendum.