DRAFT MINUTES OF KEYWORTH PARISH COUNCIL FINANCE & RISK MEETING IN THE FEIGNIES ROOM ON MONDAY, 21 NOVEMBER 2016 AT 7.00PM ______
PRESENT:
Chairman: Cllr Grice.
Committee: Cllrs Chmara, Fitzgerald, Oakley, Pinder, Seller.
ALSO PRESENT: Neil Grocock (Clerk).
17/7624 Apologies
Apologies were received from Cllr Valentine.
17/7625 Declarations of Interest
There were no declarations of interest.
17/7626 Minutes
The minutes of the meeting on 24.10.16 were APPROVED and signed by Cllr Grice as a true record.
17/7627 Matters Arising
(17/7617) Burial Ground Development Project: the Clerk reported that he was currently unable to upload details onto the Contracts Finder website due to technical problems on the website which were being looked into by CCS (Crown Commercial Service). (17/7617) Village Hall Kitchen: email correspondence between Cllr Grice and the contractor had been included in the briefing notes for the meeting. Cllr Grice pointed out that, whilst he had provisionally agreed to a £1k deposit, he had not agreed to a further £15.25k being payable prior to delivery; he was awaiting a telephone call from the contractor. After due discussion, it was AGREED that payment of £15.25k would be in order on, but not before, delivery of materials onsite. Cllr Grice also undertook to query whether labour costs were reflected in the figures and to brief the Facilities Manager regarding payment on delivery, assuming that this was acceptable to the contractor. (17/7618) An email from Keyworth United Reformed Church, thanking the Council for its contribution, was NOTED. (17/7620a) Financial projections for the full financial year, based on actuals for the first six months, had been included in the briefing notes for the meeting. The Clerk pointed out that, based on these projections, it appeared likely that there would be at least a modest surplus at the end of the financial year. (17/7620d) Car Park Drainage: Cllr Grice reported that the new Facilities Manager, Steve Mottishaw, was ‘on the case’ and would be reporting to the Facilities committee on 5.12.16. (17/7621) Burial Ground Memorial Garden: Cllr Pinder confirmed that the contractors had been given the go-ahead. It was not clear at this stage whether the work would be carried out before or after the end of the financial year.
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(17/7622) Photocopier: copies of the lease rental agreement and service contract, included in the briefing notes for the meeting, were NOTED.
17/7628 Staff Matters
The following items had been included in the briefing notes for the meeting:
- Contract of Employment and job description for the new Facilities Manager, Steve Mottishaw – NOTED and APPROVED. - The Clerk pointed out that Steve’s job description, hours and rate of pay were all subject to review after six months. - Letter to Steve Mottishaw confirming automatic enrolment with NEST (the Council’s workplace pension scheme) – NOTED; the Clerk reported that Steve had subsequently opted out.
17/7629 Groundsman Contracts
Cllr Grice reported that the Facilities Manager was having further discussions with the relevant contractors, and there was accordingly nothing to report at this stage. The Clerk commented that, based on figures seen thus far, it appeared that costs would rise considerably in 2017/18.
17/7630 Provisional Budget 2017/18
A provisional budget had been included in the briefing notes for the meeting. Cllr Grice commented that these were only very rough figures at this stage, not least because:
- The staffing situation was likely to change and could have a significant impact of payroll costs. - The situation was not entirely clear as regards groundsman contracts (see 17/7629 above). - The 2017/18 tax base was yet to be announced.
Cllr Grice added that, following the loss of the transitional protection grant from the Borough Council, a steady annual increase in the precept might avoid the need for a substantial increase at some stage in the future. Cllr Seller suggested that an increase would surely be justified in the light of increased costs, e.g. in respect of the activity park. The Clerk pointed out that expenditure on drainage for the Village Hall car park would leave relatively little margin in the budget for additional, non-routine expenditure, although projections suggested that there would be a healthy margin from 2018/19 onwards due, in part, to expiry of a Public Works Loan commitment in June 2017. After due consideration, it was AGREED that a 1.5% increase in the precept should be recommended to Full Council at the meeting on 12.12.16 pending a final decision at the meeting in January.
Page 2 of 3 DRAFT 17/7631 Former KPFA Facilities
Cllr Grice reported that a meeting had been arranged to discuss the proposed lease of the Rectory field pavilion with Keyworth Table Tennis Club on 6.12.16, and that a meeting would
be arranged to discuss the way forward in respect of the changing rooms with Transition Keyworth/Abundance early in the new year. AGREED that the Clerk should write to Keyworth Bowls Club, following completion of the roofing work, and enquire whether the club now wished to proceed with a lease.
17/7632 Correspondence
There were no correspondence items.
There being no further business, the chairman closed the meeting at 7.40pm approx.
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