Agenda item

Budget

Cllr. Bottwood went through the budget in a minute for the forum. Further details of this can be found here:  http://www.northampton.gov.uk/budget2014

Questions were opened up to the forum.

GENERAL

JC asked where the money is coming from for the whole budget. Cllr Bottwood advised that this comes from council tax, business rates and funding from central govt. This budget is based on a 0% council tax increase.

AR said that it is difficult to find the Community Impact Assessments for these proposals due to the way the budget has been published.

BUSINESS INCENTIVE SCHEME

AA asked whether the businesses in town are going to be charged for the business incentive scheme. Also, AA highlighted that private let is too expensive, which does not help to fill empty shops. Finally, it was questioned whether business rates have to still be paid even if the space is empty.

Cllr. Bottwood stated that this is going to be a co-project with local businesses, e.g. BID. Also, NBC can only help with a subsidy, working with the landlord and business to find a solution. Finally, Cllr. Malpas believed that rates would still need to be paid but was unsure. This information can be made available for the next forum if required.

ABINGTON STREET

PW raised the scepticism of people that she had spoken to about the opening up of Abington Street. PW asked if this is just because University of Northampton is moving to a central location and therefore just better access for the students. Cllr. Bottwood highlighted to the forum that the opening up of Abington Street was part of the Conservative Party Manifesto when elected into the local authority. This proposal therefore is not because of the relocation of the University of Northampton.

CULTURAL QUARTER

AR felt that the Cultural Quarter is a very slim part of town for such a significant amount of money to be spent on it. It is important to ensure that, in the development of the Cultural Quarter, it is as diverse as possible. We need to see equality targeting and positive action.

PARK RANGERS

JC asked whether the proposed increase in Park Rangers was a result of public consultation. If so, how many responses were received from the consultation and how effective was this? Cllr. Bottwood believed that this would have gone to consultation previously.  It was raised how there is always a problem with consultation, in terms of the number of responses received.

PW also raised concerns over Park Rangers. The main parks do have lots of good visible work going on. However, smaller parks, such as Eastfield, Bellinge etc. do not have park ranger presence, and park rangers are therefore not in the areas that are most in need. Will there be a noticeable difference in these areas where they need it? Cllr. Malpas said that he holds surgeries in these areas, and he understands that neighbourhood wardens and park rangers have a huge area and are too stretched, therefore leading to NBC needing more park rangers. Many Cllrs have been receiving this feedback from their residents.

Cllr. Bottwood explained that part of job description of park rangers is going to schools and other groups, engaging with communities and finding ways to help the environment. It is agreed that Park Rangers need to be more visible. Looking at job descriptions, as well as proposing the two new posts, will increase presence.

JC asked where the public will be able to find information as to where park rangers will be. Cllr Malpas suggested that as an ACTION, we invite Environmental Services to the next forum meeting to clarify this. Perhaps there could be a rota on the website.

JR said that a key problem in parks is with security. It was questioned whether the  Police still patrol parks. RP advised that there are local officers and PCSOs in every area. These would liaise with rangers.

VR agreed with the forum that there has been an issue in getting the message out about our rangers and wardens. There has clearly been a gap when VR and AM were not in post. Wardens should be meeting with groups, and building these partnerships is part of VR and AM role. ACTION - VR will take the issues raised back to the Environmental Team.

Staff Terms and Conditions

AR raised problems around the proposed changes to staff terms and conditions, as this may result in NBC not attracting the best staff to deliver excellent services.

JC asked who put the Budget on the agenda. JR advised that this was the decision of Co-chairs and Officers. If there is a cancellation for another guest (RE: Police talk on Stop Search) there is nothing else we can do. VR advised that the Budget was requested for the agenda by the Leadership.

Other issues, such as specific policies regarding NBC and NCC museum link, and specific car parks (i.e. by Quaker meeting house), were raised but could not be answered by Cllr. Bottwood as this is not part of his portfolio – it was asked that the forum invite along the appropriate Cabinet members for these specific issues in the future.

JC was concerned that the public do not understand how the council works or what the cabinet is. Cllr. Bottwood agreed that people do not know how the process works, and suggested that we could have someone to attend the forums to explain this. On this issue, PW has had a negative experience when trying to arrange a trip for people from NBA to NBC to explain the processes in local government, showing different areas and how decisions are made.  PW believed that people, young and old, are trying to understand system, but it needs to be opened up. PW said that representatives can keep coming to these meetings and talking to the same people, however there is a huge amount of people out there who do not understand the system. Cllr. Malpas said that he would take this negative experience back to Cllr. Mackintosh to ensure it is followed up.