The Mayor (Councillor Allan Jackson)
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COUNCIL MEETING - 10/10/07 34A COUNCIL MEETING 10th October, 2007 Present:- The Mayor (Councillor Allan Jackson) (in the Chair); Councillors Akhtar, Ali, Austen, Barron, Barton, Billington, Binnie, Boyes, Burton, Clarke, Currie, Cutts, Dodson, Ellis, Falvey, Gilding, Gosling, Goulty, J. Hamilton, N. Hamilton, Hodgkiss, Hussain, Jack, Kaye, Kirk, Lakin, License, Littleboy, McNeely, Mannion, Nightingale, Rushforth, G. A. Russell, P. A. Russell, R. S. Russell, St. John, Sharman, Sharp, Smith, Stone, Stonebridge, Swift, Thirlwall, Turner, Wardle, Whelbourn, Whysall, Wootton, F. Wright, S. Wright and Wyatt. A28 COUNCIL MINUTES th Resolved:- That the minutes of the meeting of the Council held on 25 July, 2007, be approved for signature by the Mayor. Mover:- Councillor Stone Seconder:- Councillor Sharman A29 GOOD NEWS The Leader was pleased to congratulate Ravenfield and Harthill Parish Councils in their success in the Yorkshire in Bloom Competition, which qualified Ravenfield in next year’s Britain in Bloom Competition. Congratulations were also offered to James Toseland who regained the World Superbike crown at Magny-Cours. The Leader also offered his thanks for all those who were involved in the organisation and participation in the best and well attended Rotherham Show during September, 2007. Resolved:- That the congratulations of the Council be forwarded to Ravenfield and Harthill Parish Councils, James Toseland and all people involved in the Rotherham Show. Mover:- Councillor Stone Seconder:- Councillor Sharman A30 COMMUNICATIONS (1) The Chief Executive submitted the following petitions:- • From 17 residents of Marshall Grove, Wath upon Dearne regarding anti-social behaviour. • From 21 residents in the Rotherham area requesting improvements to the Broom Valley Club Room. • From 3,140 residents of Bramley requesting changes to the One Way Traffic System. 35A COUNCIL MEETING - 10/10/07 • From 61 residents of the Worrygoose Lane area of Rotherham objecting to illegal parking of vehicles in the area. • From 53 residents of Knollbeck Crescent, Brampton regarding anti- social behaviour. • From 53 residents of West Bawtry Road requesting a 40 m.p.h. safety camera. • from 28 signatories regarding the area around Harrop Garden Flatts Resolved:- (1) That the petitions be referred to the appropriate Cabinet Member for consideration, apart from the petition regarding Ulley Reservoir which would be considered as part of a report later on the agenda. Mover:- Councillor Stone Seconder:- Councillor Sharman (2) The Chief Executive submitted apologies for absence from Councillors Doyle, Foden, Havenhand, Johnston, Pickering, Robinson, Sangster, Slade and Walker. A31 CABINET MINUTES Resolved:- That the reports and minutes of the meeting of the Cabinet (Section B) (pages 33B to 67B) be adopted. Mover:- Councillor Stone Seconder:- Councillor Sharman A32 STANDARDS COMMITTEE Resolved:- That the reports and minutes of the meeting of the Standards Committee (Section C) (pages 6C to 8C) be adopted. Mover:- Councillor Hodgkiss Seconder:- Councillor Clarke A33 QUESTIONS TO CABINET MEMBERS (1) Councillor Cutts claimed it was now some three or four years since he first brought to the notice of this Chamber the inappropriate handling of public money within the public conveniences at All Saints’ Square. Since that date he had reported to this Chamber the replacement of two tills, but the system of handling cash had not improved. He asked could he be advised of the current position and any future intended developments? Councillor Smith explained the provision of a washroom facility in All Saints’ Square provided a valuable public service. The management cost of running the service was kept to a minimum to reflect the modest COUNCIL MEETING - 10/10/07 36A income generated. The system in place for accounting for twenty pence’s was in-line with the advice from Audit regarding income collection. Activity levels were monitored and reconciled with the income collected. Any unusual activity would be investigated. From a management perspective this was a cost effective system of accountability. (2) Councillor Cutts asked now there were only five weeks to the Remembrance Day Ceremony in All Saints’ Square, as a mark of respect would the flagpole be resurrected. If this proved difficult, could he be given permission to supply and erect a flagpole? If this was not acceptable as an alternative could a temporary flagpole be utilised? Councillor Smith reported that as far as he was aware there were no plans to erect a permanent flag pole in All Saints' Square. He would follow up the question regarding resurrecting a flagpole that had previously existed, however, this was not something that was organised by ourselves and if it was within the Church grounds it would need following up with our contacts there. It was worth noting that any activities linked to Remembrance Day in the town centre were usually organised by the Royal British Legion and as such it would be important to find out what plans were already underway, in particular with regards to the installation of any flagpoles. We were supportive of a temporary flagpole being erected, but would ask that any plans were passed by ourselves as we needed to ensure (as with any activity in the Square) that all health and safety considerations were addressed. If a permanent pole was to be installed there were other colleagues who would need to have input into the discussions regarding location and safety etc. (3) Councillor Cutts having failed to obtain information through ‘Scrutiny’ now asked this Chamber for a detailed cash flow chart of the cash received from the donation/offering plate at the Crematorium? Councillorth Ellis explained that following the Scrutiny Panel meeting on 20 September, 2007 and at Councillor Cutts’ request, the Director of Neighbourhood Services was responding to Councillor Cutts directly detailing the information he required. Having spoken to the Director thtoday, the Cabinet Member confirmed the letter had been sent on the 4 October, 2007. However, the delay in receiving it could be due to the current postal strike. A copy was, therefore, provided for Councillor Cutts at the meeting. (4) Councillor Cutts followed on from his April question concerning the seven widows and the Council’s report dated 7th June, 2007, and asked could he now have an update on the situation and intended action? 37A COUNCIL MEETING - 10/10/07 Councillorth Ellis explainedth that she had responded to the questions asked at the 13 June and 25 July, 2007 meetings and on both occasions reiterated that it was difficult to provide a detailed response without the names and addresses of the individuals concerned. Only on receipt of this information could a detailed response be made. (5) Councillor Gilding asked why was the petition about anti-social behaviour at Warren Road, Wickersley not sent to the Police for action? Councillor Ellis explained that the Warren Road Petition had been investigated by the Council's Anti-Social Behaviour Unit who worked closely with the Police through not only the Police Officers who were seconded to the Unit, but also the Safer Neighbourhood Team. (Councillor Ellis declared a personal interest in Question 5 being a member of Wickersley Parish Council) (6) Councillor Gilding asked why was 2010 Rotherham Ltd. £895,000 in the red? Councillor Ellis confirmed that at 31st March, 2007, 2010 Rotherham Ltd. had a cumulative reserves deficit of £895,000. This was because the Company's brought forward reserves of £240,000 were exceeded by its 2006/07 trading deficit of £1.135 million on DLO trading account and Management Fee-funded services. The Board of 2010 Rotherham Ltd. had approved a Recovery Plan, after consultation with the Council, which would restore the Company's reserves to a positive balance by 31st March, 2009. (7) Councillor Gilding asked how much did this Council hold in total reserves including any reserved funds? Councillor Sharman explained the Council had been praised by the Audit Commission for its effective and robust management of reserves as part of the medium term financial planning framework. At 31st March, 2007 the Council held £59.6 million in revenue reserves, of which:- • £5.4 million was earmarked specifically for the use of Schools and £16.9 million was ring fenced for Housing purposes. • £23.3 million was specifically held for the future funding of payments under the Schools PFI project and other technical capital financing requirements. • £8.4 million was held as a General Reserve, £6.4 million as a contingency against future financial risks and £2 million being used to support the 2007/08 budget. • £5.6 million was held for a number of other identified specific risks (such as winter maintenance and property maintenance). COUNCIL MEETING - 10/10/07 38A (8) Councillor Gilding asked why was it not apparent that the decisions taken by the Cabinet with regard to the promotion of the “Sheffield City Region”, were further progress towards Rotherham being taken over by Sheffield? The Leader assumed the costs associated with the recent study into the joint economy of Sheffield and Rotherham were split equally. There was no indication that Rotherham would be integrated into Sheffield and the name of the Sheffield City Region was the name given at the time. The study would identify the implications and opportunities for the future economic development of Rotherham and action taken would be in the best interests of the people of Rotherham. (9) Councillor Gilding asked why had it been necessary to have Council employees escorted by Community Support Officers when returning to their cars on the Fitzwilliam Road Area Car Parks and had the Police Divisional Commander authorised this action? The Leader explained that following a number of reports of threats made to our employees walking from their place of work to the Fitzwilliam Street car park, the Safer Neighbourhoods Team have deployed members of their Community Wardens Service to provide an increased presence in the area around the early evening period.