Agenda item

Councillor Eldred submitted a report which reported the outcome of the consultation process on the 2019/20 general fund and capital budget and the Government funding settlement for 2019/20 and to agree the Cabinet’s recommendations for the 2019/20 general fund budgets, 2019/20 tax base and council tax level and the indicative levels for 2020/21 to 2022/23 and to outline the general fund capital programme and funding proposals for 2019/20 and future years.

He thanked the Section 151 officer and staff for their input, it had been a difficult budget to meet.  The budget had been presented to Cabinet, the Audit Committee and Overview and Scrutiny and he appreciated everyone’s input.

The budget was mindful of the impacts of moving towards a unitary local government structure and included the maximum council tax increase possible without holding a referendum. 

The budget ensured the night shelter continued and none of the proposals required redundancies or the loss of services.

Councillor Nunn seconded the report.

At this point Councillor Stone proposed the Labour groups amendment to the General Fund Revenue and Capital Budgets 2019/20.  She highlighted the following:

·         £40,000 was unspent, £38,000 of this could be used to offset costs in Community Law and Citizens Advice Bureau (CAB), £2,000 could be used to provide sanitary products in all NBC toilets; and

·         £500,000 of Capital could be used to provide a Kings Heath multi-use all weather pitch, for which a business case had been provided.

Councillor T Eales seconded the amendment noting that there was a gap in the market for this proposal.  Northampton Town Football Club currently sent their squad to Rugby to train.  The proposal would provide a local facility.

Councillor Eldred noted the points raised.

Councillors discussed the amendments, praising the work of Community Law and CAB and noting that the rules regarding Section 106 funding made it tricky to obtain funding for community facilities.

At this point the Mayor called for the amendment to be voted upon.  This was a recorded vote with the following result:

Voting for the amendment: Councillors Ashraf, Beardsworth, Birch, Choudary, Duffy, G Eales, T Eales, Joyce, B Markham, Marriott, McCutcheon, Meredith, Russell, Roberts, Smith and Stone. 

Voting against the amendment: Councillors Aziz, Bottwood, Eldred, Flavell, Golby, Graystone, Hadland, Hallam, Hibbert, Hill, Kilbride, King, Lane, Larratt, Malpas, M Markham, Nunn, Oldham, Patel, Sargeant, Shaw and Walker.

The Mayor Councillor Ansell abstained from the vote.

Upon the vote the Labour groups amendment to the General Fund Revenue and Capital Budgets 2019/20 fell.

At this point Councillor Beardsworth proposed the Liberal Democrats amendment to the General Fund Revenue and Capital Budgets 2019/20.  She highlighted the provision of temporary accommodation.  £350,000 capital investment could be used for modular homes or caravans which could be used to save money until the Council’s new build was completed.  She also sought to provide temporary day centre facilities for rough sleepers.  Revenue investment of £100,000 could provide a day centre to cover from 1pm to 9pm, until the night shelters open, over a 3 month period during the worst winter months.

Councillor Meredith seconded the amendment indicating he was very concerned about the homeless.  He felt a building should be provided on land owned by the Council to be used as needed.

Councillor Eldred explained additional funding had been included in the budget to address the homeless issue.  Regarding the provision of temporary day centre, other partners may already be addressing this and the Council should work with them.

Councillors discussed the amendments with a number of members agreeing with their sentiments.  A better way to address homelessness was needed.  It was understood that provision was in the budget but assistance was needed immediately. 

In response Councillor Beardsworth thanked Labour for supporting this amendment.  It was a small amount of money from the budget to help the most vulnerable.

At this point the Mayor called for the amendment to be voted upon.  This was a recorded vote with the following result:

Voting for the amendment: Councillors Ashraf, Beardsworth, Birch, Choudary, Duffy, G Eales, T Eales, Joyce, B Markham, Marriott, McCutcheon, Meredith, Russell, Roberts, Smith and Stone. 

Voting against the amendment: Councillors Aziz, Bottwood, Eldred, Flavell, Golby, Graystone, Hadland, Hallam, Hibbert, Hill, Kilbride, King, Lane, Larratt, Malpas, M Markham, Nunn, Oldham, Patel, Sargeant, Shaw and Walker.

The Mayor Councillor Ansell abstained from the vote.

Upon the vote the Liberal Democrat groups amendment to the General Fund Revenue and Capital Budgets 2019/20 fell.

Councillor Stone made the following points during the Labour Groups budget statement:

·         She thanked the officers for the hard work, the professionalism and the probity with which they had undertaken their duties in producing a balanced budget;

·         The group could not support a budget that raised both car park charges and council tax;

·         They had encouraged the Council to become a living wage employer to promote and encourage other employers to do the same but this had not been done;

·         It was unthinkable that the money from the loan to Northampton Town Football Club had been lost and that more money had been spent trying to reclaim it;

·         The Council needed to work with the Northampton Town Football Club supporters, who had ideas but needed help to bring them forward;

·         Thought should be given to creating a wellbeing area at Beckets Park; and

·         Work should be undertaken to make the town centre more family friendly.

During discussions it was queried if reserves were in place to address potential flooding issues.  Northampton was being asked to pay twice for winter gritting.  The increased parking charges will drive businesses away from the town centre.  The Council’s partnerships with the voluntary sector needed to be productive given the vital services they provided.  Information was sought on how the funding to tackle knife crime within the town had been spent and it was suggested that the Police and Crime Commissioner should be invited to speak about that issue and his strategies for address it. 

The amount council tax could be increased by was capped therefore if additional income was needed it had to come from other areas.  Increased to car parking would be detrimental to the town.  The budget did not contain any schemes for regeneration of the town.

The two free hours of car parking in all multi-storey car parks remained and all day parking had not been increased.  There was an additional £500,000 in the capital programme for the Mayorhold car park repairs.  The Council was engaging with school children regarding knife crime with conferences being delivered to all Year 6 primary school children.  The Council was not paying twice for the winter gritting.

Councillor Eldred responded that the Council received £225 per year per band D property in council tax which was not a lot given all the services provided.  Business rates were being reduced to benefit the local economy.

At this point the Mayor called for the recommendations to be voted upon.  This was a recorded vote with the following result:

Voting for the recommendations: Councillors Aziz, Bottwood, Eldred, Flavell, Golby, Graystone, Hadland, Hallam, Hibbert, Hill, Kilbride, King, Lane, Larratt, Malpas, M Markham, Nunn, Oldham, Patel, Sargeant, Shaw and Walker.

Voting against the recommendations: Councillors Ashraf, Beardsworth, Birch, Choudary, Duffy, G Eales, T Eales, Joyce, B Markham, Marriott, McCutcheon, Meredith, Russell, Roberts, Smith and Stone. 

The Mayor Councillor Ansell abstained from the vote.

The recommendations in the report were agreed.

RESOLVED: That Council agreed:

1.    That the feedback from consultation with the public, organisations and the Overview and Scrutiny and Audit Committees be considered and welcomed (detailed at appendices 9, 10 and 11).

2.    That a general fund revenue budget for 2019/20 of £27.495m (excluding parishes) be approved (detailed in appendices 1 and 2).

3.    That Council approve the tax base for 2019/20 at 68,418.55 band D equivalent properties and associated parish tax bases as set out at section 3.1.3 and as recommended to Council for approval at the Cabinet meeting of 12 December 2018.

4.    That the Council increases the council tax for its own purposes (excluding County, Police, Fire and Parish Precepts) by £6.56 (2.99%) per year per average band D property for 2019/20.

5.    That the Council approve the general fund capital budget and outline programme and proposed financing for 2019/20, including the inclusion of schemes in the development pool, as set out in appendix 4.

6.    That Council confirms the aim of maintaining a minimum level of general fund reserves of £4.0m for 2019/20, having regard to the outcome of the financial risk assessment, and also note the position on earmarked reserves (appendix 7).

7.    That authority be delegated to the Chief Finance Officer in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Finance, and where appropriate the relevant Head of Service and Cabinet Member to:

·           Transfer monies to/from earmarked reserves as appropriate during the financial year; and

·           Update prudential indicators in both the prudential indicators report and treasury strategy report to Council, for any budget changes that impact on these.

8.    That the draft fees and charges set out in appendix 8 be approved, including immediate implementation where appropriate.

9.    That Council approve the treasury management strategy (and associated appendices) for 2019/20 at appendix 5 of this report.

10.That authority be delegated to the Council’s Chief Finance Officer, in liaison with the Cabinet Member for Finance, to make any temporary changes needed to the Council’s borrowing and investment strategy to enable the authority to meet its obligations.

11.That Council delegate authority to the Chief Executive, Heads of Service and Chief Finance Officer to implement all budget options and restructures.