June 2013, at the Showground, Winthorpe
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Trent Valley Internal Drainage Board Minutes of the Annual General Meeting of the Board held at 9.00 a.m. on Thursday, 27th June 2013, at the Showground, Winthorpe. Elected Members Nominated Members * Messrs W.J. Staunton (Chairman) Bassetlaw DC * J. Miller (Vice-Chairman) * Messrs J. Bowler * R. Warburton (Vice-Chairman) I. Davies * A. Arden * Cllr J.B. Rickells T.H. Farr Newark and Sherwood DC A. Howick * Cllrs J. Bradbury * R.J. Jackson * D.R. Payne * D. Loates * I. Walker * R.R. Oates * Mrs S. Michael * R.N.J.S. Price Rushcliffe BC * S.E. Richardson Cllrs J.A. Cranswick * J. Strawson * R. Hetherington * N.C. Lawrence * P. Smith Gedling/Melton BCs * Cllr J. Evens West Lindsey and North Kesteven DCs Cllr Mrs P. Woodman * Present * Messrs A. McGill (Chief Executive) * D.J. Sisson (Engineer) * S. Thackray (Director of Finance) * R.P. Mitchell (Director of Operations) * M.S. Everett (Operations Manager) * P. Baines (Rating and Administration Officer) * A. Wallace (Nottinghamshire County Council) * Mrs J. Bradley (Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust) * Miss C. O’Brien (Administration Assistant) * In attendance The Chairman welcomed Cllr J. Bradbury to his first Board meeting. The Chairman introduced and welcomed Mr A. Wallace, the Flood Risk Manager from Nottinghamshire County Council. 1. APOLOGIES Apologies for absence were received from Messrs I. Davies, T.H. Farr, A. Howick, Cllrs J.A. Cranswick and Mrs P. Woodman. The Engineer reported that the Operations Manager may be late as he was attending the testing of the doors at Beckingham Pumping Station by the Environment Agency. - 87 - Minutes of a meeting of the Trent Valley Internal Drainage Board held on 27th June 2013 2. DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST None. 3. NOTIFICATION OF ITEMS OF ANY OTHER BUSINESS Mr J. Miller - Maintenance Policy. 4. BOARD MINUTES (Pages 72 to 86) RESOLVED That the minutes of the meeting of the Trent Valley Internal Drainage Board held on 27th June 2013 be confirmed as a correct record. Mr R.R. Oates arrived. 5. MATTERS ARISING 5:1 Minute 11:1, Page 74 - Standards Committee Minutes Officers reported that the task completion time-lines listed in the Risk Register adopted by the Board at the previous meeting were challenging given other competing priorities and had, therefore, not all have been completed. The Chairman and Vice-chairmen were monitoring progress monthly and the Register would be presented to the Board for annual review at a later date. RECEIVED 5:2 Minute 14, Page 77 - Finance (Torksey Cottage) The Chief Executive reported that the current tenant of the property, a retired Newark Area Internal Drainage Board employee, was due to vacate at the end of October. The Board would need to consider what to do with the property after that date and a paper would therefore be presented to the September Board meeting outlining the options, e.g. leaving the property vacant with attendant security issues; renting the property and absorbing any costs to bring it up to present day letting standards; selling the property. RECEIVED 5:3 Minute 16, Page 78 - Operations Report (Main River Maintenance Framework Contract) It was noted that this item was covered in detail in the Finance and Plant Committee minutes. RECEIVED 5:4 Minute 16:5, Page 80 - Cross Compliance It was agreed to discuss this under Agenda Item 14 (Environmental Matters). RECEIVED - 88 - Minutes of a meeting of the Trent Valley Internal Drainage Board held on 27th June 2013 5:5 Minute 18, Page 81 - Lincolnshire Flood Risk Management Strategy The Engineer reported that Part 3 of the Strategy Action Plan 2013-2014 was available on-line should members wish to view it. RECEIVED Mr J. Evens arrived. The Chairman welcomed Cllr Evens who was the newly appointed representative from Gedling Borough Council. 6. FINANCE AND PLANT COMMITTEE MEETING The Chairman presented the attached minutes of the Finance and Plant Committee held on 6th June 2013. He stated that the Final Accounts would be discussed in detail under agenda item 7. Mr R.J. Jackson supported attendance at the Newark Show. The Chairman reported that he hoped the Board could have a joint stand with Nottinghamshire County Council and Mr A. Wallace agreed to raise this with the Council. The Director of Finance stated that, should the Board agree to join the local buying group, Woldmarsh, this would not preclude purchases from elsewhere and tenders/quotations would still be sought for all major purchases including fuel, electricity, vehicles etc. RESOLVED (a) That the minutes of the Finance and Plant Committee meeting held on 10th January 2013 be confirmed as a correct record. (b) That the Board withdraw from the current Framework contract with the Environment Agency and pursue a Public Sector Co-operation Agreement. (c) That the tender submitted by T.C. Harrison be accepted for the supply of a JCB JS160 excavator at a cost of £95,045 (including trade-in); the shortfall to be met from balances. (d) That the Board attend the 2014 Newark Show in partnership with Nottinghamshire County Council if possible. (e) That the Board fund the cost of an interpreter for the visit from the German Confederation of Water Management. (f) That the Board join the local buying group, Woldmarsh. 7. FINANCE 7:1 Final Accounts for the Year Ended 31st March 2013 The Director of Finance stated that the Board continued to prepare the accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard for Smaller Entities (FRSSE) as, although no longer an audit requirement, it was considered best practice. He emphasised that although pumping stations were now depreciated in the FRSSE accounts, this was purely a desk-top exercise and they were not included in the - 89 - Minutes of a meeting of the Trent Valley Internal Drainage Board held on 27th June 2013 estimates when the rates and special levies were set; this also was the case for the interest on the pension obligation. It was noted that the money budgeted for any schemes which had not been undertaken during the year had been accrued to 2013/14 to enable the work to be completed. The Director of Finance presented the attached Final Accounts for the year ended 31st March 2013. He stated that the Board's first year had been a challenge with record rainfall. Net Expenditure for the year was £1.59m with a deficit of £101k. This included non-rated and non-cash expenses of Pumping Station depreciation £83k and interest on pension obligation £185k, therefore, excluding these non-cash items the result was a surplus of £167k (£59k adverse to budget) which was largely due to overspends on pumping station costs. The Accounts had been considered in detail by the Finance and Plant Committee and were recommended for approval by the Board. The following detailed explanations were given: Drain Maintenance - Expenditure of £715k; £11k lower than budget. Pumping Station Costs - Expenditure of £314k; £167k higher than budget, excluding non-rated pumping station depreciation of £83k, actual cash expenditure was £231k, (budget £147k). The wettest year on record resulted in large overspends on electricity costs. Asset Renewals and Reforming Maintenance - Expenditure of £31k; £101k lower than budget. The delay in the progression of the Beckingham Pumping station project was the main factor in this underspend. Unexpensed costs of £101k on 2012/13 projects still to be completed at the year-end would be accrued and adjusted in the 2013/14 estimates to fund the completion of these works. Support Services - Expenditure of £335k; £44k higher than budget. This adverse variance was largely due to unbudgeted gratuity payments to retiring staff of £11k, unbudgeted unfunded retired employee pension payments of £8k, office repairs and maintenance of £6k, office heating of £1k, and legal and professional fees of £7k. Environment Agency Precept - Expenditure of £195k; £121k below budget due to the offsetting of Highland Water income. Interest on Pension Obligation - A £185k adjustment which is the accounting adjustment required for FRS17 Pensions reporting and represented the notional cost of financing the pension deficit. This was not a cash expense to the Board, was not rated for nor included in the Board's estimates. Other Income - Actual income of £162k; £100k adverse compared to budget. This was due to Highland Water (-£130k adverse) now being offset against Environment Agency Precept but masked favourable variances from pump hire of £7.8k, cottage rental £1.5k and rechargeable works of £33k including the Fairham Brook study on behalf of the Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust and the Environment Agency Main River Maintenance Contract. - 90 - Minutes of a meeting of the Trent Valley Internal Drainage Board held on 27th June 2013 Deposit Interest Income - Income of £13k; £1k adverse to budget due to lower deposit interest rates in the market. These rates which were being depressed by Government Quantitative Easing and Funding for Lending Schemes, were likely to continue for at least a further three years. The Director of Finance stated that the deficit for the year of £101k was £128k adverse to the March forecast although if the non-rated FRSSE adjustments for depreciation and Interest on Pension obligations were excluded, the net variance from the March forecast was +£152k favourable, being the underspend on capital schemes and the extra contract income. The main variances from the March forecast were reported as follows: Miscellaneous Income etc: +£38k due to extra Environment Agency contracting and third party contracting income in March. Pumping Stations: -£89k due to the unbudgeted and unrated pumping station depreciation of £83k required for the FRSSE accounts, plus slightly higher than forecast electricity invoices for March due to the saturated catchments continuing to discharge water to the Board's systems.