Issue - meetings

To consider the report of the Chief Finance Officer.

The Chief Finance Officer presented the report providing a strategic overview of the budgetary position for the 2019/20 financial year and beyond including an indication of the likely level of available resources, the known demand for resources and the proposals to ensure that a balanced budget was achieved.

The Chief Finance Officer advised Members that this was the last year of a four-year Central Government Settlement agreement with the provisional settlement for 2019/20 being announced in December 2018. The approximate award for New Homes Bonus was expected to be £2.518 million for 2019/20 and unfortunately the application for Devon Authorities to be a 75% pilot for Business rates was unsuccessful. The Councils budget strategy for next year assumed a council tax increase of £5 along with the estimated surplus on the collection fund of £96,331 and increase in the tax base this would raise an extra £208,000.

The Council had a legal responsibility to produce a balanced budget and that savings of £2.4 million had to be found next year on top of the savings already identified.

In response to the Leader, the Chief Finance Officer stated that there was uncertainty going forward as to what funding would be available for future years and that the Council needed to reduce its budget where possible.

RECOMMENDED that Council:-

(1)           note the contents of the report; and 

(2)          approve the proposals to establish a balanced revenue budget and capital programme.