Agenda item

A recorded vote will be carried out in respect of the above item.

 

Section 106 of the Local Government Finance Act 1992 places a duty to declare an interest on any councillor who is two or more months in arrears with their Council Tax payments if they attend any meeting involved in setting the Council tax rate for the local authority. They must abstain from any vote involved in the setting of the Council tax rate until they are no longer in arrears.

The Mayor presented a report which set out the proposed Revenue Budget, Council Tax, Medium Term Financial Plan and Capital Strategy for 2022/23.

 

The Mayor advised that the Council’s financial position was relatively stable but it still needed to be careful, as the future was still uncertain. As part of the budget, the Council was proposing a 2.99% increase in Council Tax, comprising of a 0% increase in general Council Tax, and an additional precept of 2.99% for Adult Social Care.

 

The Mayor advised that the budget did not propose any cuts to any Council services. The public and the politicians had been consulted on the budget and all suggestions had been considered.

 

The Mayor advised that a minor amendment to the proposed budget had been received and he advised that he aimed to support the proposed amendment.

 

Consideration was given to the proposed amendment to the budget, moved by Councillor Cooke and seconded by Councillor Rooney of which notice had been given in accordance with Council Procedure Rules as follows:

 

“The Motion proposed remains to adopt a revenue budget of £118,328,934, but to propose the following amendment:

 

Replacement of Paragraph 54 of the budget report as follows:

 

54. A budget of £495,000 per annum has been provided for investment in services provided to residents.  It is proposed that this will be spent on delivering the following main priorities

 

·        £160,000 per annum to create a tree maintenance squad in order to initially clear the backlog of works, and create an ongoing tree maintenance programme to reduce backlogs potentially re-occurring in the future.

 

·        £90,000 per annum to enable the Council to offer a subsidised Pest Control service to residents. This would include the recruitment of two additional pest control operatives.

 

·        £150,000 per annum towards expanding the current youth provision, targeting areas of the town where crime and anti-social behaviour are high.

 

·        The remaining £95,000 per annum will initially be held centrally, and will be allocated to service directorates throughout 2022/23 as other priorities develop”.

 

The amendment had been examined by the Council’s Section 151 Officer and he had confirmed that should the amendment be approved, the Council would have a balanced and legally, implementable budget.

 

Councillor Cooke spoke in support of the amendment to the budget.

 

Councillor Cooke advised that the amendment centred on issues that had been raised by members of the public.

 

·        The Council required a pest control service.

·        The issues with trees including overgrown trees and the lack of on-going maintenance of trees.

·        The Council required a Youth Service offering and funding was required to resource the service.

 

Councillor Rooney spoke in support of the amendment to the budget and thanked the Council officers for their hard work in pulling the budget together. Most Councillors had received complaints from residents about the issues included in the motion. The funding provided the opportunity to address the issues.

 

Councillors Hellaoui, Mawston, Saunders, Arundale, C Hobson, Furness, Higgins, Branson, Uddin, Rathmell, Mason, Hubbard and Cooper commented on the amendment to the budget.

 

The Monitoring Officer conducted a Recorded Vote on the Amendment to the Budget. The result of the vote was as follows:

 

Votes For: (36)

 

Mr A Preston (Elected Mayor) Councillors Arundale, Branson, Cooke, Cooper, Coupe, Davison, Dean, Dodds, Furness, Grainge, Hellaoui, Higgins, High, Hill, C Hobson, J Hobson, Hubbard, Hussain, Lewis, Mason, Mawston, McCabe, Nugent, Platt, Polano, Purvis, Rooney, Rostron, Sands, Saunders, Smiles, Thompson, Uddin, Wilson, Wright

 

Against:  (0)               

 

Abstentions: (1) Councillor Rathmell

 

The Monitoring Officer conducted a Recorded Vote on the original Budget with the amendment included. The result of the vote was as follows:

 

Votes For: (36)

 

Mr A Preston (Elected Mayor) Councillors Arundale, Branson, Cooke, Cooper, Coupe, Davison, Dean, Dodds, Furness, Grainge, Hellaoui, Higgins, High, Hill, C Hobson, J Hobson, Hubbard, Hussain, Lewis, Mason, Mawston, McCabe, Nugent, Platt, Polano, Purvis, Rooney, Rostron, Sands, Saunders, Smiles, Thompson, Uddin, Wilson, Wright

 

Against:  (1)    Councillor Rathmell

 

Abstentions: (0)

 

Following the outcome of the vote, the Monitoring Officer confirmed that the amended budget was approved in principle. It was clarified that the Mayor had five days in which to consider the amended budget. The Mayor confirmed that he wished to waive the five day period for consideration of the amended budget so that the budget could be approved with immediate effect. On that basis, the Monitoring Officer confirmed that the amended budget was approved with immediate effect. 

 

ORDERED as follows:

 

That the Council approves the proposed budget strategy for 2022/23 as set out in paragraphs 30 to 70, subject to the replacement of paragraph 54 as detailed above.

 

Having taken into account the matters set out in Section 32 of the Local Government Finance Act 1992 and the items set out within the report, that the Council approves the budget requirement for 2022/23 to be set at £118,328,934 as detailed in Appendix 1.

 

That the Council approves the actual amount of Council Tax (Band D) for areas without parish precepts (excluding Fire and Police) be set at £1,809.67. This represents a total increase of 2.99%. This comprises of a 0% increase in general Council Tax, and an additional precept of 2.99% for Adult Social Care (which includes 1% relating to 2022/23, and 1.99% of unused remaining allowable allocation from 2021/22), which has been continued by the Government to contribute towards the shortfall of funding for adult social care.

 

That the Council approves the actual amount of Council Tax (Band D) for areas with parish precepts (excluding Fire and Police) be set at :-

 

Nunthorpe Parish                                            £ 1,819.10

Stainton and Thornton Parish                         £ 1,818.98

 

That the amounts of Council Tax for each category of dwelling be set in accordance with table 4 of Appendix 3 within the report, be approved.

 

That the refreshed Medium Term Financial Plan position for 2022-25 set out in the report in paragraphs 92 to 144, be noted.

 

That the updated Investment Strategy for the period to 2024/25 as outlined in paragraphs 145 to 150 and detailed in Appendix 4 of the report, be approved.

 

That the Capital Strategy Report (Prudential indicators, Investment Strategy and Minimum Revenue Provision) 2022/23 as outlined in paragraphs 151 to 162 and detailed in Appendix 5, and the Authorised Limit for external borrowing of £356 million for the Council for 2022/23 as set out in paragraph 161, be approved. 

 

That following confirmation from the Mayor that he wished to waive the 5 day period for consideration of the amended budget, the budget be implemented with immediate effect.

 

The Chair announced that as the budget was approved with immediate effect, the Council meeting that was scheduled for 4 March 2022 was now cancelled.