Agenda item

RESOLVED TO RECOMMEND that:

 
General Fund Revenue Estimate

a) set a Dacorum Borough Council General Fund Council Tax requirement of £11.532m, and a provisional amount of £12.348m for the combined Borough Council and Parish Councils’ requirement for 2019/20;

b) approve an increase of 2.99% in Council Tax for
Dacorum Borough Council;

c) approve the base estimates for 2019/20, as shown in Appendix A1, and the indicative budget forecasts for
2019/20 – 2022/23, as shown in Appendix A2;

d) approve the forecast balances of Revenue Reserves as shown in Appendix J, and approve section 10 of this report as the updated Reserves Strategy;

e) approve increases in Fees and Charges for 2019/20 as set out in Appendices C3, D3, and E3;

f) approve and adopt the Treasury Management Strategy
for 2019/20, attached at Appendix K;

g) approve and adopt the Treasury Management Principles and Practices for 2019/20, attached at Appendix L;

h) approve and adopt the Capital Strategy for 2019/20, attached at Appendix M;
 

i) note that this budget paper, if approved by Council, will form part of the Medium Term Financial Strategy.

Capital Programme

j) approve the revised Capital Programme and Capital Strategy for 2018/19, and for 2019/20 to 2022/23, as
detailed in Appendix I and Appendix M respectively;

k) approve the financing proposals in Appendix I subject to an annual review of the financing options by the Corporate Director (Finance & Operations), in consultation with the Portfolio Holder for Finance and Resources, during the preparation of the Statement of Accounts.

Housing Revenue Account (HRA)

l) reduce dwelling rents by 1% in accordance with government legislation, resulting in an average rent of £100.08 per week (based on 52 weeks);

m) approve the HRA estimate for 2019/20 as shown in Appendix F.

Employer Terms & Conditions

n) approve the continued application of a living wage supplement for all affected employees, in accordance with the rates of the Living Wage Foundation, for 2019/20 (to be reviewed annually thereafter).

Statement by Chief Finance Officer

o) approve the statement by the Chief Finance Officer regarding the robustness of the budget estimates and level of reserves as set out in Appendix N.

Decision

RESOLVED TO RECOMMEND that:

 
General Fund Revenue Estimate

a) set a Dacorum Borough Council General Fund Council Tax requirement of £11.532m, and a provisional amount of £12.348m for the combined Borough Council and Parish Councils’ requirement for 2019/20;

b) approve an increase of 2.99% in Council Tax for Dacorum Borough Council;

c) approve the base estimates for 2019/20, as shown in Appendix A1, and the indicative budget forecasts for 2019/20 – 2022/23, as shown in Appendix A2;

d) approve the forecast balances of Revenue Reserves as shown in Appendix J, and approve section 10 of this report as the updated Reserves Strategy;

e) approve increases in Fees and Charges for 2019/20 as set out in Appendices C3, D3, and E3;

f) approve and adopt the Treasury Management Strategy for 2019/20, attached at Appendix K;

g) approve and adopt the Treasury Management Principles and Practices for 2019/20, attached at Appendix L;

h) approve and adopt the Capital Strategy for 2019/20, attached at Appendix M;
 

i) note that this budget paper, if approved by Council, will form part of the Medium Term Financial Strategy.

Capital Programme

j) approve the revised Capital Programme and Capital Strategy for 2018/19, and for 2019/20 to 2022/23, as
detailed in Appendix I and Appendix M respectively;

k) approve the financing proposals in Appendix I subject to an annual review of the financing options by the Corporate Director (Finance & Operations), in consultation with the Portfolio Holder for Finance and Resources, during the preparation of the Statement of Accounts.

Housing Revenue Account (HRA)

l) reduce dwelling rents by 1% in accordance with government legislation, resulting in an average rent of £100.08 per week (based on 52 weeks);

m) approve the HRA estimate for 2019/20 as shown in Appendix F.

Corporate objectives

All of the Council’s corporate objectives are reflected in the Budget proposals.

Monitoring Officer/S.151 Officer comments

Monitoring Officer
Under the Council’s Constitution it is the responsibility of Cabinet to draw up firm proposals for the Budget, having regard to the responses to the consultation, and to present those proposals to full Council for approval. Once full Council has approved the Budget it is the responsibility of Cabinet to implement it.

S.151 Officer
Comments contained in body of report. Chief Finance Officer Statement contained in Appendix N of the report.

Advice

J Deane introduced the report and said there had been no material changes since the last Joint Budget OSC. There have been a couple of minor changes, in Appendix E3 the waste collection service should be £55 not £50 and the purchase of additional green bins remains at £25, not £26 as stated. This budget includes savings of £900,000 and there is a £450,000 decrease in income due to the recycling downturn which makes a total savings of £1.3 million. Savings become difficult when services are becoming leaner but DBC are making these savings whilst protecting front line services. Council tax will increase by 2.99% which the vast majorities of local authorities are also doing but this still represents value for money as residents get all council services for just £3.87 per week. The council have reduced its rent in line with the government policy. There are risks but satisfied that the processes and controls are robust. Risks for the current year - there is a £100,000 forecast over budget but confident that it can be reined in. J Deane said he was satisfied that the budget can be delivered robustly and on a sustainable basis.

Councillor Griffiths said that this budget had been through two meetings of Overview and Scrutiny Committees and the only changes from the Housing & Community meeting was an increase in staffing for private sector housing. This was also presented as an additional item and there were no challenges and the committee were in agreement.

Councillor Marshall said the members of the Strategic Planning and Environment OSC were content and overall, supportive of the budget.

Councillor Williams said it was becoming increasingly challenging to produce a balanced budget whilst maintaining front line services. He passed his thanks to everyone for putting it together. He referred to page 107 and asked about the £378 million borrowing figure.

J Deane said it was a combination of the HRA borrowing remains and the general fund.

N Howcutt said it sets key principles and is an indicator of the maximum level of debt that is sustainable. This can be reviewed every year.

Councillor Williams asked if this was an internal measure of control and do DBC have some flexibility?

J Deane confirmed that the authority was DBC’s.

Councillor Tindall referred to the graph for 2023-24 and this cap has been exceeded by £16 million. Does this mean that somewhere between now and 2023, we have got to reduce capital borrowing by £16 million to stay within the guidelines?

J Deane said a reassessment would be made to enable more borrowing. A lot of these targets are statutory requirements but don’t reflect reality. This figure can change dependant on the financial position at the time.

Voting

None.