Issue - meetings

The Local Government Finance Act 1992 places a legal requirement on the Council to approve a balanced budget. The first draft of the General Fund budget for 2023/24 indicated a deficit of £960k. This report updates that deficit to the current position of £905k and proposes options to consider to achieve the statutorily required neutrality.

The Group had before it a *report from the Deputy Chief Executive providing the Medium Term Financial Plan.

The Corporate Manager for Finance explained the current position by way of a presentation and advised Members that he was looking for a steer on higher and lower priorities.

Consideration was given to:

·         Members were asked to consider any savings were district wide and not confined to individual parishes

·         The figures for fuel costs were based on real time values

·         Some savings would be found in Vacancy Management but that the Council were not expecting to make any redundancies

·         Some Members found it difficult to make decisions on priorities when they were unsure of what each cost centre covered

·         The suggestions put forward by officers on where and how savings could be achieved

·         Members felt the letter sent to the Parishes asking for funding for some services was not clear on what was being requested

·         The residents survey results

·         Some Members would support a review into the number of grass cuts a year

It was therefore RECOMMENDED to the Cabinet that:

1.    The Weed Team should not be reinstated

(Proposed by Cllr B G J Warren and seconded by Cllr R F Radford)

2.    Waste Collection/Recycling/Open Spaces should be protected from budget and service provision reductions

(Proposed by Cllr R F Radford and seconded by Cllr W Burke)

3.    Property Service Staff Unit and Administration Buildings could be considered for budget and service provision reductions

(Proposed by the Chairman)

Reason for the decisions: As per the report

Note: *report previously circulated and attached to the minutes