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Agenda item
Revenue Budget 2022/23 Revised and 2023/24, plus Capital Programme 2023/24-2025/2026
- Meeting of Budget, Cabinet, Monday, 6th February, 2023 6.00 pm (Item 512.)
- View the background to item 512.
Decision:
Subject to the agreed amendments, Cabinet recommends that full Council:-
(i) Approve the draft 2023/24 revenue budget (Appendix A)
(ii) Approve a 2.99% increase in the Borough Council's part of the Council Tax.
(iii) Approve the Capital Programme 2023/24 to 2025/26 (Appendix D).
(iv) Approve the proposed expenditure from the Renewal and Repairs Reserve, and Information Technology Reserve (Appendices J and I respectively) and those items from other reserves shown in Appendix H that can proceed without further reference to Cabinet or Council.
(v) Approve that the use of the limited monies in the budget and Reserves for "Invest to Save" schemes be determined by the Chief Finance Officer in consultation with the lead member for Finance and Chief Executive.
(vi) Agree once again that the Council does not seek to undertake any capital project/scheme purely for yield that would prevent the Council from borrowing either commercially or from the PWLB to fund its Capital programme.
(vii) Approve the revised Land and Property Disposal Programme (Appendix F) and agree that disposals can be brought forward if market conditions make it sensible to do so and as part of the future Capital Asset Strategy.
(viii) Agree that where a Capital scheme involves a net increase in overall revenue costs to the Council, or where any guarantee is to be provided which does, or could, incur costs for the Council, such decisions continue to be made by full Council.
(ix) Agree that no Council properties or land be disposed of, either by sale or lease, at less than market value without further express approval by Full Council - except where the lease is no longer than 5 years and the difference is less than £5,000 p.a. in which case Cabinet will have the authority to determine.
(x) Agree that schemes marked with an asterisk in the Capital Programme can proceed without further reference to Cabinet or Council.
(xi) Approve the detailed recommendations in Appendix M, which relate to the setting of Council Tax in accordance with Sections 31 to 36 of the Local Government Act 1992 (Appendix M – to be provided/updated for full Council).
(xii) Approve that the budget be amended as necessary to reflect the final grant figures including Disabled Facility Grants - once received.
(xiii) Full Council adopt the existing Council Tax Support Scheme subject to amendments to allowances in line with national changes. Determination of the allowances to be delegated to the Chief Finance Officer in line with prior year practice.
(xiv) It is recommended that the Council reviews the affordability of the Council Tax Support Scheme during 2023/24 in order for a consultation exercise to be undertaken.Minutes:
The Chief Finance Officer presented the draft budget for 2023/24 and thanked all officers involved in the lengthy budget setting process.
The Council has had to make substantial savings across all services and these will be monitored closely going into the new financial year to ensure progress. This is a difficult financial position and the Council will be going below the minimum recommended level of reserves. Savings need to be addressed as quickly as possible to remove the reliance on reserves.
Councillor Rankin was present and asked if it was wise to have such a high level of minimum reserve and could the Council live with lower reserves in the short term? The Chief Finance Officer responded that the minimum of £6 million has been calculated based on a 50% downturn in income (£2 million), a 5% overrun in expenditure – including capital spend (£2 million), and unforeseen circumstances (£2 million). There is guidance regarding what level general reserves should be, but there is no statutory requirement to hold a certain level of reserves. The Council will be going below the minimum recommended level based on the current proposals but the aim is to get back to reserves of £6 million to provide flexibility and sustainability in the future.
The Cabinet proposed the following amendments to the draft revenue budget, approved unanimously:
Tourism: withdraw from 1066 Marketing at the end of the agreed notice period (saving £50,000 annually) and establish a Hastings tourism marketing organisation during 2023/24 and 2024/25. No tourism staffing savings are proposed. Savings from the closure of the Tourist Information Centre (after 2023 summer season) to be allocated to Hastings tourism marketing as follows: 2023/24 £15,000, 2024/25 £30,000 (to enable development of new website), 2025/26 onwards £20,000.
Culture: reduce levels of savings for Hastings Museum and Art Gallery (from £35,000 to £25,000 a year) and for Hastings Contemporary (from £10,000 to £5,000 in 2023/24 and from £15,000 to £10,000 in 2024/25)
Events: Work with community organisers to undertake a review of festivals to identify options for greater sustainability. Review to be completed during 2023/24. No changes to current levels of investment in 2023/24 or the first half of 2024/25, apart from Town Criers event which Rye Town Council has offered to sponsor, saving £2,000.
Parks Ranger: Defer new Park Ranger post until 2024/25 onwards, when the Grounds Maintenance DSO will have been established. Save £21,000 in 2023/24, to be allocated in 2025/26.
Voter ID: £21,000 growth in 2023/24 only. Undertake Borough wide promotion from October to inform residents of the Voter ID requirements recently introduced by government, promote postal voting which does not require photo ID, and enable new identification forms to be widely available before the May 2024 elections.
In relation to the proposals for tourism and marketing Councillor Batsford clarified that whilst 1066 Country Marketing is a partnership between Hastings, Rother and Wealden, all of the staffing and administration is currently resourced by Hastings Borough Council.
RESOLVED (unanimously):
Subject to the agreed amendments, Cabinet recommends that full Council:-
(i) Approve the draft 2023/24 revenue budget (Appendix A)
(ii) Approve a 2.99% increase in the Borough Council's part of the Council Tax.
(iii) Approve the Capital Programme 2023/24 to 2025/26 (Appendix D).
(iv) Approve the proposed expenditure from the Renewal and Repairs Reserve, and Information Technology Reserve (Appendices J and I respectively) and those items from other reserves shown in Appendix H that can proceed without further reference to Cabinet or Council.
(v) Approve that the use of the limited monies in the budget and Reserves for "Invest to Save" schemes be determined by the Chief Finance Officer in consultation with the lead member for Finance and Chief Executive.
(vi) Agree once again that the Council does not seek to undertake any capital project/scheme purely for yield that would prevent the Council from borrowing either commercially or from the PWLB to fund its Capital programme.
(vii) Approve the revised Land and Property Disposal Programme (Appendix F) and agree that disposals can be brought forward if market conditions make it sensible to do so and as part of the future Capital Asset Strategy.
(viii) Agree that where a Capital scheme involves a net increase in overall revenue costs to the Council, or where any guarantee is to be provided which does, or could, incur costs for the Council, such decisions continue to be made by full Council.
(ix) Agree that no Council properties or land be disposed of, either by sale or lease, at less than market value without further express approval by Full Council - except where the lease is no longer than 5 years and the difference is less than £5,000 p.a. in which case Cabinet will have the authority to determine.
(x) Agree that schemes marked with an asterisk in the Capital Programme can proceed without further reference to Cabinet or Council.
(xi) Approve the detailed recommendations in Appendix M, which relate to the setting of Council Tax in accordance with Sections 31 to 36 of the Local Government Act 1992 (Appendix M – to be provided/updated for full Council).
(xii) Approve that the budget be amended as necessary to reflect the final grant figures including Disabled Facility Grants - once received.
(xiii) Full Council adopt the existing Council Tax Support Scheme subject to amendments to allowances in line with national changes. Determination of the allowances to be delegated to the Chief Finance Officer in line with prior year practice.
(xiv) It is recommended that the Council reviews the affordability of the Council Tax Support Scheme during 2023/24 in order for a consultation exercise to be undertaken.Reasons:
1. The Council continues to be under severe financial pressure. It is facing increased costs, particularly from inflation and homelessness, it has large Capital projects in the pipeline and must by law set a balanced budget. It has had to use large elements of its reserves to fund the cost pressures and to balance the budgets in each of the last few years and will need to do so again in 2023/24 and 2024/25.
2. A major overhaul of the funding mechanism for local authorities has again been postponed and when combined with a Spending Review that continues to underfund disadvantaged councils will leave the Council with little option but to cut services to the barest minimum. The Council is able to increase Council Tax by a maximum of 2.99% without a referendum against a background of inflation currently running at above 9%.
3. Despite identifying Priority Income and Expenditure Review (PIER) savings of over £1.4m for 2023/24 these are insufficient to balance the budget without the further use of Reserves. Once again further significant savings need to be found during 2023/24 to reduce the call on the Reserves, achieve a balanced budget in future years, and to try and ensure that reserve levels can be maintained at above the minimum recommended level.
4. The Council needs to be in a position to match its available resources to its priorities across the medium term and to maintain sufficient reserves and capacity to deal with potentially large and unexpected events in addition to fluctuations in income and expenditure levels – as highlighted by the Covid-19 crisis and one-off expenditure items such as dangerous structures, cliffs and reservoir works. The increased in–year spend on temporary housing accommodation necessitates a much greater degree of service reductions elsewhere in the Council.
5. The Council remains exposed to a much greater degree of volatility in terms of its income from Non Domestic Rates and expenditure in terms of Council Tax Support claims – the cost falling directly on the Council and the preceptors.Supporting documents:
- Budget Report 2023-24 v1.3, item 512. PDF 258 KB
- Draft Budget 2023-24 (27.01.2023), item 512. PDF 597 KB
- Glossary, item 512. PDF 62 KB
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