MINUTES of the Meeting of the Finance & Governance Committee held at 8.00pm on Thursday 9 January 2020 in the Village Centre, Trinity Road, Hurstpierpoint
Committee Members Present
Malcolm Llewellyn (Chairman) Allan Brown Stephen Hand Rodney Jackson Seth Jee Claire Majsai Duncan Ranger Julia Shorrocks
Also Present: Andy Beams – Clerk to the Council
F19/071 Apologies for absence and declarations of interest: Apologies for absence were received from Cllr John Lowman. There were no declarations of interest.
F19/072 Minutes of the meeting of Finance & General Purposes Committee of 5 December 2019: The minutes were received and accepted and signed by the Chairman.
F19/073 Adjournment for questions from the public: There being no members of the public present the committee was not required to adjourn the meeting in accordance with Clause 1(d) of Standing Orders.
F19/074 FINANCIAL MATTERS:
F19/074.1 Payments and receipts: The Committee was asked to:
(1) NOTE payments of £46,159.17 for month 9 (December 2019) (Ref: Schedule December2019)
(2) NOTE receipts of £5,707.09 for month 9 (December 2019) (Ref: Schedule December 2019)
RESOLVED: The Committee noted payments of £46,159.17 and receipts of £5,707.09 for month 9 (December 2019)
F19/074.2 Financial monitoring: The committee noted the accounts records for Month 9 (December 2019), in accordance with the Financial Regulations of the council, as follows:
(1) Bank reconciliation and Trial Balance
(2) Income and expenditure (Qtr 3 – Month 9) – it was noted that the budgeted drawdowns from earmarked reserves had not yet been completed, as these were normally done at the financial year end. Additionally, the Village Centre was still to be invoiced for the staff cross-charging and the Clerk was asked to ensure that all budget transfers agreed by Council were accurately reflected in the figures.
F19/074.3 Deposits and investment: The committee noted that the council was holding the following funds on the dates shown. The Clerk agreed to prepare a detailed review of the Council’s financial holdings and options for future funds for review at the next committee meeting.
Ref Statement Date Amount Bank Ref Comment
8 31/12/2019 64,075.04 Unity Bank ‘20365408 Current
1 30/11/2019 66,101.74 CCLA ‘0663140001PC Shares
7 31/03/2019 53,517.14 Nationwide ‘90001826 Bond
9 31/03/2019 33,249.04 Nationwide ‘90114712 Bond
10 09/05/2019 50,850.00 Cambridge + Counties 15011214 Deposit
11 19/11/2019 35,770.00 Cambridge + Counties 15012689 Deposit
TOTAL £303,602.91
F19/075 Contracts and Leases: (No report)
F19/076 Parish Action Plan: The Committee reviewed the consolidated Parish Action Plan (Ref: Parish Action Plan 2016 -21 Rev 8) and assessed whether each action was allocated to the correct committee/working group.
RESOLVED: The Committee made a number of minor revisions and the Clerk was asked to reorder the plan based on the agreed changes. Committees to take responsibility for their allocated actions and review and update as appropriate at each committee meeting.
F19/077 Financial Risk and Insurance: (No report)
F19/078 Compliance with Financial Regulations: (No report)
F19/079 Future Budget: The Committee reviewed:
(1) Review of Charges: The Committee noted the revised charges, including the rounding down of Court Bushes hire fee increases, as agreed by Council in December 2019 (Ref: Confidential Briefing note (v3) 19 December 2019)
(2) Budget and Precept 2020/21: The Committee noted the report as previously circulated (Ref: Confidential Briefing note 11 December 2019)
(3) The Draft Budget 2020/21: The Committee reviewed the revised budget proposal and assessed each line individually for any changes. As a result, a further £11,100 was removed from the budget along with half of the staffing provision for the Finance Assistant role (approximately £6,700). The revised budget will be presented to Council for approval, alongside an assessment of the Council’s total reserves position.
F19/080. Staff Matters: (No report)
There being no other business the Chairman closed the meeting at 9.57pm
Chairman