Introduction
In preparing this year's estimates, the opportunity has again been taken to review the way the Council finances its expenditure - using a combination of income and the precept. The proposals put forward by the Policy, Resources and Finance Committee allow us to achieve many of our aspirations whilst setting a marginal increase in the household precept for the people of Yeovil. We have managed to secure this by a combination of careful budgeting, prudent financial management, more efficient working arrangements, and more effective partnership working.
Financial Strategy
These proposals include the adoption of a financial strategy aimed at ensuring that the Council achieves a sustainable balanced budget whilst, at the same time, maintaining flexible ways of responding to future requests for unforeseen and inescapable expenditure, and for contributions towards threatened services currently delivered by the District and the County Councils in Yeovil Town, which we feel need to be supported.
As part of this strategy, all Committees have been asked to keep their expenditure within suggested maximum limits - with any proposed increases beyond those suggested being matched by reductions elsewhere in their respective budgets. I'm pleased to say that all Committees have followed this suggestion and I am grateful for their support.
The strategy also identifies the benefits of Committees continuing to pool their contingency funds and bidding for the use of these funds as the necessity arises. This approach is consistent with the way in which unspent revenue balances are dealt with and it ensures that all Committees have the same opportunity to bid for additional expenditure next year. Again, I am pleased to report that all Committees have accepted this proposal.
Put simply, the strategy we have adopted makes sure that we plan not only for next year's expenditure, but also for the years to come. The proposals before you tonight set the foundation for future budgets.
Financial Implications
The revised draft committee estimates put forward by the Policy, Resources and Finance Committee total £795,249 excluding the contribution we make each year to the Cemetery deficit. After including this contribution, the proposed total precept for the Town amounts to £890,501.
In setting this year's budget we became aware of the 2.5% additional grant made by Central Government to principal authorities this year to help such authorities implement a council tax freeze in 2011/12. This arrangement has not been extended to town and parish councils, which has put extra pressure on their ability to maintain local services without increasing their share of the council tax.
Furthermore, bearing in mind the impact on the budget of items over which we and all other local authorities have no control - such as inflation, which is currently running at 3.7% and is likely to remain above the Government's target of 2% in 2011, and fluctuations in interest rates (which affect the income we get from our investments) this is an extremely reasonable budget.
Turning to services, I would like to highlight some of the more important initiatives, which it is proposed be funded by the Town Council during the 2011/12 financial year.
Buildings and Civic Matters Committee
- Maintaining our contribution towards CCTV in Yeovil Town £30,000. This not only helps to meet the ongoing operating costs of the system but also enables the equipment to be developed and upgraded in future years.
- Allocating over £16,000 to cover the costs of the Town Council operating the award-winning public toilets that were built last year in Peter Street - to replace those that were previously provided within the Quedam Shopping Centre.
- Setting aside over £15,000 to help maintain and staff Monmouth Hall - which provides an important meeting place for a number of local organisations and accommodates a local library. In recent years we completed works to install a disabled person's toilet in the premises and created an enclosed play area, and last year we carried out the external decoration of the premises.
- Providing sponsorship for the Town Band at £3,000 which, in turn secures the Band's support for the numerous civic functions and other engagements that the Town Council organises each year.
- Setting aside £3,000 to meet the costs of maintaining and improving the Town Council's offices in Union Street. In recent years, we have installed a hearing induction loop in the Council Chamber, which is extensively used as a meeting room by a wide range of public organisations based in the Town, and this year we repainted the outside of this Grade II listed building.
- Contributing £2,000 towards sports development in the Town
- Allocating just over £4,000 towards transport support - to help meet the costs of providing new bus shelters and related initiatives.
- Setting aside over £4,500 for community safety initiatives such as the provision of lighting in unadopted highway areas, CCTV enhancements and other Town Centre security measures.
Grounds and General Maintenance Committee
- Paying almost £178,000 towards the costs of maintaining and enhancing all the open spaces and amenities managed by the Town Council in Yeovil, and Yeovil Country Park. These areas are primarily provided for the benefit of local people, but also help to attract visitors to the Town. Last November, we agreed to fund the planting of trees in various open spaces in the Town and to carry out path refurbishment works in the Upper Milford Valley.
- Allocating almost £20,000 to meet the on-going costs of supporting and developing Milford Park. This important facility includes a skate park, multi-use games area and a much-used community hall, which has recently been redeveloped in line with the aspirations of a "Planning for Real" consultation exercise and which was officially re-opened last December. All of these facilities are provided with the financial support of the Town Council.
- Setting aside over £25,000 towards allotment maintenance, improvements, development and support. In line with our participative approach to managing allotments, we are continuing to give plotholders a say on how this money is spent.
- Contributing almost £11,000 towards the costs of employing a Play Officer as part of our commitment to managing and developing play facilities for young people across the Town. This person ensures that play areas are regularly inspected and that safety issues are monitored and addressed.
- Allocating over £4,000 to help meet the costs of providing much needed holiday playschemes for young people living in the most deprived areas of the Town.
Planning and Licensing Committee
- Setting a budget and fees at a level aimed at recovering all of the direct costs of administering the licensing service.
Promotions and Activities Committee
- Effective management and the successful securing of private sponsorship have enabled the Town Council to continue funding the award-winning Yeovil in Bloom initiative at a cost of £36,440.
- Providing almost £20,000 towards Christmas Lights making the Town an even more attractive place to visit and shop in the weeks leading up to Christmas.
- Contributing just over £20,000 to the Yeovil Town Centre Partnership to help secure and develop its role in the Town. This is an important initiative that helps to fuel the economic prosperity and vibrancy of the Town Centre, and the allocated resources will help the Partnership to flourish and develop new initiatives over the coming years.
- Setting aside £8,000 towards further environmental improvements in the Town Centre. Last year saw the completion of a variety of enhancements on the western side of Princes Street - which include the provision of new bespoke planters, public seating and landscaping works at the entrance to the United Reformed Church, and new planters opposite the Church Street junction. These innovative projects are in line with the aspirations of the Yeovil Vision and will undoubtedly play a part in helping us to achieve ongoing success in the Regional Britain in Bloom annual competition.
- Allocating up to £3,000 towards the costs of organising another Annual Flower and Gardeners' Market in the Town Centre. This exciting initiative, which embraces a wide range of horticultural related activities, incorporates the Annual Yeovil in Bloom and Best Kept Allotment Presentations and this year we successfully linked the event with the monthly Farmers' Market.
Policy, Resources and Finance Committee
- Providing a grants budget of £20,000 to help new and existing local organisations based in the Town or serving the Town's population.
- Allocating just over £5,000 towards the costs of operating the Yeovil Shopmobility Scheme. This initiative continues to provide much-needed personal transport for those residents and visitors who experience mobility problems and allows them to enjoy the wealth of shops that Yeovil has to offer.
- Putting aside just over £1,200 towards the valuable work undertaken by Yeovil Youth Council.
- Making just over £2,000 available towards Best Value initiatives aimed at securing continuous improvement in the services we deliver to the people of Yeovil.
- Provisionally allocating £10,000 towards the ongoing delivery of the Yeovil Vision which, last year saw the completion of the much-awaited Reckleford (Option 5) Highway Improvement Project.
- Mindful of the need to develop the range of services that we deliver to the people of Yeovil Town, and the need to ensure that additional funding is available to enable contributions to be made towards threatened services currently delivered in Yeovil Town, we have also included a total allocation of £40,000 in the New Initiatives budget.
- A number of suggestions have been put forward and discussed this year and a proposal to provide new noticeboards in each of the four wards across the Town has been agreed and is being implemented. All the service committees will again be invited to put forward bids for the use of this fund over the coming year and the Town Council will continue to decide how this fund will be spent.
- The Town Council will also use this fund to meet the cost of making a planned £4,000 contribution towards the provision of tourist information services in Yeovil Town, which are currently under threat, as well as any other threatened services that we wish to support.
Capital Fund
At the moment, this stands at £12,214 with commitments totalling £6,711 which means an unallocated balance of £5,503.
The fund will be boosted by the capital receipt arising from the sale of the former Goldcroft Allotment Site, which we have agreed will be sold and will include much needed affordable housing. The highest offer for the land has been accepted, and we are hoping to conclude the sale of the land in the near future.
The disposal of this land will help meet the costs of the Town Council contributing to future capital projects, including the current upgrade and enhancement of the play area at Monks Dale Recreation Ground.
Taking into account agreed and pledged funding partner contributions, the total cost of this scheme is £41,170. However, through negotiations and discussion with funding partners, the overall cost to the Town Council will be £15,000 - just over 36%.
Other capital schemes which have been undertaken this year include the redevelopment of Milford Community Hall and the upgrade of the play area at Yew Tree Park.
The cost of the Town Council's contribution to both of these schemes has already been built into the base budget thereby ensuring that they could both be delivered.
Effective partnership working is the key to success and, by working closely with our funding partners, external funding of over £735,000 has been secured in the last three years for the benefit of tens of thousands of local residents and visitors to the Town.
In the event that the sale of the Goldcroft land is delayed, we have agreed an alternative way of financing the Town Council's share of the Monks Dale project's costs using unallocated balances in the General Reserve.
Next year, it is proposed that we contribute match-funding totalling £32,500 towards the planned upgrade of the play areas at Milford Park and Preston Park. The District Council has committed funding to these two schemes and s106 contributions have been secured from a local developer towards the Milford Park initiative, which will enable an enhanced scheme to be implemented at that location.
Later tonight, the Town Council will be asked to agree to these two schemes being funded in a similar way to the Monks Dale project. There is sufficient scope to meet the cost of these additional projects from further unallocated balances in the General Reserve, in the event of the Goldcroft land sale being delayed.
Conclusion
Last December, the Town Council agreed that the fixing of the 2011/12 precept be deferred. The reason for taking this approach was to provide a breathing space, which would enable any additional requests for funding assistance towards services under threat that may be made in the meantime by the County and the District Councils to be put before Members.
Reductions in the level of public expenditure in all tiers of local government have put pressure on the delivery of services and we need to make sure that we identify the reasons for these reductions and have the opportunity to consider how these may potentially affect the people of Yeovil and how we may help to alleviate the impact on services that we feel need to be protected.
After advising both Authorities of our planned approach and inviting their submissions, we received and considered a number of requests, and we have since created additional headroom in the New Initiatives budget to enable the Town Council to respond positively to supported requests.
The Policy, Resources and Finance Committee has recommended that the revised 2011/12 draft revenue estimates for the various Service Committees of the Council be adopted, it being noted that this would result in a 1.6% increase (equivalent to £1.46 per year or less than 3p per week per Band D property) in the Town Council's share of the household precept.
Cllr David Recardo
Chairman of the Policy, Resources and Finance Committee
February 2011