Issue - items at meetings - Budget Update and Budget Process 2013/14

Report of the Director of Finance (copy attached).

(1)               That the resource and expenditure projections for 2013/14 to 2015/16 set out in paragraph 3.26 be noted;

(2)               That the Directors be instructed to develop budget proposals for 2013/14  on the basis of:

·         a 3.5% council tax increase

·         the principles set out in paragraph 3.35

·         the consultation and engagement approach set out in paragraph 4;

(3)               That the Directors be instructed to develop outline budget proposals for 2014/15 alongside the detailed proposals for 2013/14; and

(4)               That the resource projections for the capital investment programme as shown in appendix 2 to the report be noted.

23.1         The Director of Finance introduced the report which outlined the proposed budget process for 2013/14 and the Council decision in February to set the council tax and council budget.  She noted that it was intended to repeat aspects of the previous year’s consultation process which included Overview & Scrutiny and partner organisations and would cover a two-year budget programme.

23.2         Councillor Littman welcomed the report and thanked the officers concerned for their work to date.  He stated that the council was facing a number of new as well as continuing pressures, many of which were unlikely to be supported by government funding.  He noted that the budget premise was for a Council Tax increase of 3.5% and that many of the neighbouring authorities in the region were facing similar government grant reductions to that of the council.

23.3         Councillor G. Theobald questioned the need to identify a possible council tax figure at this stage bearing in mind that the government grant announcement was not made until November.  He suggested that it would be better to look at the capacity of the organisation to reduce costs and plan for the grant announcement and therefore he could not support the recommendations.

23.4         Councillor Mitchell stated that she was concerned about the level of cuts being imposed by the government and noted that it was usual for the opposition groups to wait until the grant announcement in November before putting forward arguments in relation to the budget.  She noted the information and welcomed the intention to follow a similar consultation process to last year.

23.5         The Chair stated that he hoped people would engage in the consultation process and that opposition group representatives were welcome to attend various budget review groups and scrutiny meetings.  He believed that it was important to outline the budget proposals at an early stage and to outline the financial position.  He then put the recommendations to the vote.

23.6         RESOLVED:

(1)         That the resource and expenditure projections for 2013/14 to 2015/16 set out in paragraph 3.26 be noted;

(2)         That the Directors be instructed to develop budget proposals for 2013/14  on the basis of:

·               a 3.5% council tax increase

·               the principles set out in paragraph 3.35

·               the consultation and engagement approach set out in paragraph 4;

(3)         That the Directors be instructed to develop outline budget proposals for 2014/15 alongside the detailed proposals for 2013/14; and

(4)         That the resource projections for the capital investment programme as shown in appendix 2 to the report be noted.