Agenda and minutes

Venue: Guildhall, High Street, Exeter

Contact: Sarah Selway, Democratic Services Manager (Committees)  Telephone 01392 265275 or email  sarah.selway@exeter.gov.uk

Items
No. Item

1.

Apologies

Minutes:

These were received from Councillors Baldwin, Denham, Gottschalk, Mitchell and Newby.

 

2.

David Morrish

Minutes:

The Council observed a minutes’ silence in memory of Former City Councillor David Morrish who had recently passed away having faithfully served the City of Exeter through 50 years of local government service including 28 years as an Exeter City Councillor having been granted Freedom of the City status in April 2011. The Leader and Members reflected on the outstanding qualities David Morrish had brought to the role of member and to his total commitment and dedication to Exeter and its citizens.

 

 

 

3.

Budget 2018/19 pdf icon PDF 5 MB

To pass the following resolution:-

 

RESOLVED:-

 

(1)        That the following, as submitted in the Estimates Book, be approved:-

 

            (a)        the Revenue estimates for 2018-2019;

 

            (b)        the Capital programme for 2018-2019;

 

(2)        that it be noted that, at the meeting of the Executive on the 9 January 2018, the Council calculated the figure of 36,547, as its council tax base for the year 2018-2019 in accordance with the Local Authorities  (Calculation of Council Tax Base) (England) Regulations 2012 made under Section 33(5) of the Local Government Finance Act 1992;

 

(3)        that the following amounts be now calculated by the Council for the year 2018-2019 in accordance with Sections 31A of the Local Government and Finance Act 1992:-

 

(a)        £106,012,385 being the aggregate of the amounts which the Council estimates for the items set out in Section 31A(2)(a) to (f) of the Act;

 

(b)        £100,528,557 being the aggregate of the amounts which the Council estimates for the items set out in Section 31A(3)(a) to (d) of the Act;

                       

(c)        £5,483,828 being the amount by which the aggregate at (3)(a) above exceeds the aggregate at (3)(b) above, calculated by the Council, in  accordance with Section 31A(4) of the Act, as its council tax requirement for the year;

 

(d)        £150.05 being the amount at (3)(c) above divided by the amount at 2 above, calculated by the Council, in accordance with Section 31B(1) of the Act, as the basic amount of its council tax for the year;

 

 

            (e)        Valuation Bands

 

                                                                                               

A

B

C

D

£100.03

£116.71

£133.38

£150.05

 

 

 

 

E

F

G

H

£183.39

£216.74

£250.08

£300.10

 

 

Being the amount given by multiplying the amount at (3)(d) above by the number which, in the proportion set out in Section 5(1) of the Act, is applicable to dwellings listed in a particular valuation band divided by the number which in that proportion is applicable to dwellings listed in valuation band D, calculated by the Council, in accordance with Section 36(1) of the Act, as the amounts to be taken into account for the year in respect of categories of dwellings listed in different valuation bands.

 

 

(4)        That it will be noted that, for the year 2018-2019, Devon County Council, the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner for Devon and Cornwall and the Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Authority have stated the following amounts on precepts issued to the Council, in accordance with Section 83 of the Local Government Act 2003, for each of the categories of the dwellings shown below:-

 

            Devon County Council

            Valuation Bands

 

A

B

C

D

£xxx.xx

£xxx.xx

£x,xxx.xx

£x,xxx.xx

 

 

 

 

E

F

G

H

£x,xxx.xx

£x,xxx.xx

£x,xxx.xx

£x,xxx.xx

 

 

            Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner for Devon and Cornwall

 

A         

B

C

D

£xxx.xx

£xxx.xx

£xxx.xx          

£xxx.xx

E

F

G

H

£xxx.xx

£xxx.xx

£xxx.xx

£xxx.xx

           

 

            Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Authority

            Valuation Bands

 

A         

B

C

D

£xx.xx

£  ...  view the full agenda text for item 3.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Minute 5 (2018/19 Council Tax Base and NNDR1) of the meeting of Executive held on 9 January 2018 was taken as read and adopted. 

 

The Leader of the Council, moved and Councillor Sutton seconded the resolution as set out in the agenda and circulated papers in respect of the Council Tax for 2018/19.

 

The Leader, in presenting the budget, set the context for this year’s budget proposals by referring to a 6.5% reduction in Government Formula Grant for the year 2018/19, on top of equally drastic cuts in previous years, the last three years having seen cuts of 10.8%, 12.6% and 15.6%. However, despite Exeter’s Government grant having dropped from £12 million to £4.8 million between 2010 and 2019, thanks to good leadership and management, the council’s finances were in good shape.

 

In the financial year 2017/18, the Council had delivered £1.3 million in savings and additional income, on top of £1 million saved the previous year. In setting the budget for 2018/19, a balanced budget was proposed, with much of the lost formula grant replaced by a combination of additional efficiency savings and income. The Leader advised that, for every council tax bill, only 8% of the income came back to the Council, Devon taking 76%, the Police 11% and the Fire Authority 5%. In the current financial year, an average bill for a Band D property in Exeter had been £1,670.80 and, of that, the City Council had received £145.05. It was proposed to increase the Council’s share of the bill by 3.45%, which was the equivalent of 10 pence a week.

 

The Leader continued by referring to the extremely good value for money provided and stating that Exeter continued to punch well above its weight when it came to the running and development of the city. According to the Centre for Cities, Exeter was now the second fastest growing city in the UK, the population having increased by 2% in one year with the number of jobs in the city rising from 92,000 to 95,000. Employment had grown by 3.3% in the last year - compared to 1.7% nationally - and there had been a net increase of 3,000 jobs in the private sector - the 10th highest in the country. Exeter had the third lowest youth unemployment in the country and the fifth lowest for all claimants. These figures demonstrated a growing and successful economy, achieved with the highest drop of CO2 emissions in the UK, a drop of 44%.

 

The investment in the Exeter Science Park was an example of the role the Council played in supporting a knowledge economy and driving innovation, with £1.2 million invested and the Government’s Industrial Strategy had recognised this world class environmental science cluster at Exeter. The economic growth of the city was good for residents and the wider Devon economy. The city’s travel to work area was continuing to grow and was only second to that of Cambridge. The city had seen a net exporting of £26 million  ...  view the full minutes text for item 3.