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Agenda item

2019-2020 Budget Proposals

Report of the City Treasurer

Minutes:

4.1     Steve Mair, City Treasurer, introduced the report.  He explained that detailed proposals were once again being submitted earlier than in previous years in order to allow for longer implementation and therefore achieve full year effect of savings.

 

4.2     Councillor Melvyn Caplan, Chairman of the Budget and Performance Task Group, addressed the meeting.  He drew attention to the notes of the Task Group’s meetings included in the report.  He confirmed that the Task Group had undertaken detailed work and had found the budget to be robust. He explained that the Task Group had for the first time held a dedicated meeting on reviewing the capital programme. More detailed scrutiny on managing the Council’s capital programme will be considered by the Housing, Finance & Customer Services Policy and Scrutiny Committee at its November meeting.  The task group had considered the income proposals to be both reasonable and achievable. He commented that the economic climate is such that the Council should not be over reliant on elements that it cannot control. He thanked the Members and Officers who had given a significant amount of time to the scrutiny process.

 

4.3     The Leader thanked the Task Group and officers for all of their detailed work. This was supported by Councillor Robathan who commented that a significant amount of work had been undertaken to identify the required level of savings due to the very significant reduction in grant funding. The proposals had been rigorously reviewed with all Council colleagues. She expressed gratitude to the City Treasurer and his team for their work.

 

4.4              

          Resolved:

 

          1.       That having considered and had regard to the Equality Impact Assessments (EIA) in Annex B to the report and considered the views of the Budget and Performance Task Group set out in Annex A to the report, that the Cabinet recommended to Full Council the following:

 

Ø   the budget proposals, set out in Annexes B and C to the report, for the 2019/20 budget where relevant external consultations have been completed (remaining consultations are on savings items outlined in 19.1 and as reviewed by the Budget and Performance Task Group as detailed in Annex A;

 

Ø   in principle, the budget proposals for the 2019/20 budget where relevant external consultations have not been completed as separately listed in Section 19 are approved.  Such proposals will be further considered, by Full Council on 6 March 2019, once all consultations and EIAs (Equality Impact Assessments) have been completed.

 

Ø   the financial regulations noted in Section 19.6 and set out at Annex D to the report.

 

2.       Agreed to receive a further report in February 2019 which will finalise the budget for 2019/20 for approval by Council on 6 March 2019.

 

 

Reasons for Decision

 

1.       The presentation of this budget proposals report offers an early opportunity to note and approve budget changes for the 2019/20 financial year. 

 

2.              All proposals have been assessed for whether they require consultations and equality impact assessments, whether these have been completed or not and, where they have not been completed, timescales for completion.  Completed EIAs are available to all members at Annex B.  

 

 

Supporting documents: