Agenda item

At the full Council meeting held on 21 December 2020 delegated authority was granted to the Chief Executive and Cabinet Portfolio Holder for Economic Development and Regeneration (Transition Bexhill Town Council) to agree the Community Governance Order (CGO) required to create the new Parish Council (PC) for Bexhill-on-Sea, including the identification of the budget requirement.  The CGO could not be completed without the Budget Requirement and the Council Tax liability for 2021/22 being included.

The Chairman welcomed the recently appointed Interim Parish Council Administrator (IPCA), Linda Butcher, who would be undertaking all the necessary preparatory work to establish the new PC for Bexhill-on-Sea and Ian Davison, Lead Solicitor from Surrey Hills Solicitors, undertaking the necessary legal work required.  

As agreed at the last meeting, representations from organisations and individuals who wished to express a view regarding the budget had been sought and a number had been included within the papers for the meeting and circulated separately.  On behalf of the Community Governance Review Steering Group (CGRSG), the Chairman thanked all the organisations and individuals who had submitted representations, all of which had been considered. 

The Assistant Director Resources had prepared a proposed precept in consultation with the IPCA as set out at Appendix B to the report.  This showed that the proposed first year precept was estimated at £276,765; since publication of the Agenda the estimates had been further updated by the inclusion of a general reserve fund of £75,000 bringing the total to £351,765 with a Band D Council Tax of £22.38. 

In recognition of the consultation responses and other soundings that had been taken by Members, it was proposed to add an additional £10,000 to the Grants and Community Support Budget to total £30,000 and an additional £10,000 for a COVID recovery fund.  This resulted in a total budget of £371,765 with a Band D Council Tax of £22.59.  Members were keen to ensure that the new PC would have enough funds in its first year to make an impact and help the community from the outset, particularly with regard to post-COVID recovery. 

Members considered the proposed budget, together with the suggested additions and the following points were noted:

Ø  the employee costs included interim staff employed after 1 April 2021, the new permanent town clerk and included pension and other on-costs;

Ø  premises costs had been estimated at £12,000 per annum based on an estimated rent for office space and a shop front within the town centre; it was not always recommended to be co-located with the District Council, at least initially – this would enable the PC to forge its own identity; even if the PC was located within the Town Hall, there would be a cost – no other town or parishes across the district was subsidised by Rother District Council (RDC) in this way;

Ø  the general reserve account was expected to cover 3-6 months operating costs for the PC and was essentially to cover unexpected costs – £75,000 represented the recommended norm for councils with this size precept;

Ø  unlike RDC, the PC could reduce its precept in future years if the reserves were sufficient, without the fear of not being able to increase in future years due to the fact that Parish/Town Councils were not subject to a precept cap;

Ø  the figure provided for the election costs included many assumptions; the true cost would not be known until after the elections dependent on factors such as whether separate poll cards would be issued, and whether all Wards would go to poll etc.; the costs had, however, already been calculated on the basis of shared costs for other elections taking place on the same day;

Ø  at the current time, the Government had no intention to cancel the elections due to take place in May, but this would be kept under review; it was noted that it was standard practice that election costs were reclaimed from the body that the election was carried out on behalf of;

Ø  whilst the prospect of a COVID recovery fund was supported, some Members were concerned over the level of new taxation for the community, particularly in light of the COVID pandemic and impact this had on working families on low incomes; and  

Ø  there was an estimated balance in the region of £8,000 to come in from the Charter Trustees.

Following the debate Members thanked fellow Committee Members, officers, Linda Butcher and Ian Davison for their professional advice and input into the identification of the budget requirement.  Ian Davison confirmed that this was a major step forward in completing the CGO, although there were still one or two issues to resolve before the CGO could be signed and sealed, which were being addressed.   The Chairman would ensure that the signing of the CGO was well publicised to mark the historic event.     

RESOLVED: That the Bexhill Parish Council Budget and Precept for 2021/22 be set as attached at Appendix A.