Agenda item

Resolved to Recommend:

 

General Fund Revenue Estimate

 

a)       a Dacorum Borough Council General Fund Council Tax  requirement of £10.709m, and of £11.442m for the combined Borough Council and Parish Councils’ requirement for 2017/18;

 

b)      an increase of 2.71% in Council Tax for Dacorum Borough Council;

 

c)       the base estimates for 2017/18, as shown in Appendix A1, and the indicative budget forecasts for 2017/18 – 2020/21, as shown in Appendix A2;

 

d)     the forecast balances of Revenue Reserves as shown in Appendix J, and approve paragraphs 10-20 of this report as the updated Reserves Strategy;

 

e)       increases in Fees and Charges for 2017/18 as set out in Appendices C3, D3, and E3;

 

f)       the Treasury Management Strategy for 2017/18, attached at Appendix K;

 

g)      the Treasury Management Principles and Practices for 2017/18, attached at Appendix L;

 

h)      that this budget paper will form part of the Medium Term Financial Strategy.

 

Capital Programme

 

i)        the revised Capital Programme for 2016/17, and for 2017/18 to 2021/22, as detailed in Appendix I;

 

j)        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)

 

k)       reduce dwelling rents by 1% in accordance with government legislation, resulting in an average rent of £104.17 per week (based on 52 weeks); 

 

l)        the HRA estimate for 2017/18 as shown in Appendix F.

 

Terms & Conditions

 

m)     the continued application of a living wage supplement for all affected employees, in accordance with the rates of the Living Wage Foundation, for 2017/18 (to be reviewed annually thereafter).

 

Statement by Chief Finance Officer

 

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

Resolved to Recommend:

 

General Fund Revenue Estimate

 

a)       a Dacorum Borough Council General Fund Council Tax  requirement of £10.709m, and of £11.442m for the combined Borough Council and Parish Councils’ requirement for 2017/18;

 

b)      an increase of 2.71% in Council Tax for Dacorum Borough Council;

 

c)       the base estimates for 2017/18, as shown in Appendix A1, and the indicative budget forecasts for 2017/18 – 2020/21, as shown in Appendix A2;

 

d)     the forecast balances of Revenue Reserves as shown in Appendix J, and approve paragraphs 10-20 of this report as the updated Reserves Strategy;

 

e)       increases in Fees and Charges for 2017/18 as set out in Appendices C3, D3, and E3;

 

f)       the Treasury Management Strategy for 2017/18, attached at Appendix K;

 

g)      the Treasury Management Principles and Practices for 2017/18, attached at Appendix L;

 

h)      that this budget paper will form part of the Medium Term Financial Strategy.

 

Capital Programme

 

i)        the revised Capital Programme for 2016/17, and for 2017/18 to 2021/22, as detailed in Appendix I;

 

j)        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)

 

k)       reduce dwelling rents by 1% in accordance with government legislation, resulting in an average rent of £104.17 per week (based on 52 weeks); 

 

l)        the HRA estimate for 2017/18 as shown in Appendix F.

 

Terms & Conditions

 

m)     the continued application of a living wage supplement for all affected employees, in accordance with the rates of the Living Wage Foundation, for 2017/18 (to be reviewed annually thereafter).

 

Statement by Chief Finance Officer

 

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

 

Reason for Decision

 

To present to Cabinet budget proposals for recommendation to Council in relation to:

 

·        Revenue and Capital Expenditure together with the potential use of reserves

 

·        The setting of the Council Tax for 2017/18

 

·        The Treasury Management Strategy 2017/18

 

·        The level of fees and charges for 2017/18

 

·        Advice to Councillors on the robustness of the Budget proposals and adequacy of balances and reserves as required by the Local Government Act 2003

 

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 M of the report.

 

Advice

 

Councillor Elliot gave the following introduction to the report:

 

The Budget Context

 

After already absorbing annual funding reductions of over £6m since 2010, this budget sets out plans for Dacorum Borough Council to save a further £1.4m in 2017/18.

 

The scale of the medium-term financial challenge facing the Council is significant, with a further £2.3m of savings required by 2020/21.

 

The Council has set the budget for 2017/18 with a strong focus on delivering its corporate priorities into the medium-term, and has already identified further savings initiatives of over £1.4m to address future years’ savings targets.

Continuing to invest in the Borough

 

Despite the extent of these financial challenges, Dacorum Borough Council is proposing a capital investment programme of over £185m to improve the services we provide to our residents over the next 5 years.

 

Some of the areas identified for capital investment include:

 

o    £90m investment in our existing housing stock

o    £60m investment in our ambitious and successful new build programme

o    £14m investment in community facilities including car parks, cemeteries, community and sports premises

o    £9m investment in Economic Development including affordable housing, town centre investment and the regeneration of Gadebridge Park

o    £2m investment in IT improvements that will reduce the day-to-day costs of delivering our services and further improve the customer experience for all our residents in the future

Maintaining our front-line services

 

Over the last 6 years Dacorum Borough Council has managed to protect its front-line services in the face of funding reductions in excess of 60%. The council has again found the savings required for 2017 without reducing its front-line services.

 

The Council has worked hard to deliver the efficiencies required through fostering a culture of innovation and a focus on continuous improvement. This has enabled us to deliver savings through a range of initiatives including digital transformation, more efficient structures, improved commercialisation and the delivery of our ambitious new building, The Forum – which has significantly reduced annual running costs.

Council Tax

 

As part of the budget for 2017/18, the Council is proposing to increase Council Tax by 2.71%.

 

This proposal was strongly endorsed through the Council’s budget consultation process, with 88% of residents supporting the decision.

 

A 2.71% increase in Council Tax equates to less than 10p per week for a Band D property.

In Conclusion

 

Unquestionably, there are significant financial challenges ahead for the Council, both over the period of the current 4-year Settlement, and in particular beyond 2020 with the implementation of Business Rates reform yet to be worked through.

 

However, I remain confident that with the processes this Council has in place, the culture of innovation we continue to develop, and most of all with the continued commitment of Officers and Members we will continue to deliver for our residents.

Councillor Griffiths added that the HRA was part of this recommendation and she felt it was a good news story. The council was complying with the law with a 1% reduction in rents and we had now agreed a higher quality of repairs and maintenance. It was noted that there was an additional £9mil capital expenditure included in the capital programme.

 

Councillor Williams supported the recommendations and noted there were challenges to be faced ongoing for the next 3-4 years.

 

Voting

 

None.