EVESHAM TOWN COUNCIL
Minutes of the Meeting of the FINANCE AND GENERAL PURPOSES COMMITTEE held at 6.30 pm on MONDAY 5 JUNE 2017 at Evesham Town Hall, Market Place, Evesham
Those present:
Chairman: Cllr Mrs S Amor
Councillors: Cllr A P Booth, Cllr J Bulman, Cllr M D Elliman,
Cllr M S Goodge (Deputy Mayor),
Cllr R S W Jones (Town Mayor), Cllr F Kaler
Cllr R W Raphael, Cllr Mrs J Tucker
Officer: Mr S D Carter (Town Clerk)
Also present were Councillor G Hale, Dr Valerie Trimm from the Wychavon Festival of Brass and Nicola Adams from the Evesham River Festival.
1. Election of Chairman
It was noted that the Committee Terms of Reference specified that the Chairman would be the immediate past Mayor unless they did not wish to be considered. Cllr Kaler did not wish to be considered for the role of Chairman.
It was proposed by Cllr RW Raphael and seconded by Cllr M S Goodge that Councillor Mrs S Amor be elected committee Chairman for the municipal year. There being no other nominations it was RESOLVED that Councillor Mrs S Amor be committee Chairman.
2. Election of Vice-Chairman
In his absence it was proposed by Cllr A P Booth and seconded by Councillor M S Goodge that Cllr J H Smith OBE be elected committee Vice-Chairman for the municipal year. There being no further nominations, it was RESOLVED that Cllr J H Smith OBE be committee Vice-Chairman.
3. Apologies for Absence
Apologies for absence were submitted by Councillors J H Smith OBE and Mrs F S Smith.
4. Declarations of pecuniary or other interest (if any)
Cllr R W Raphael declared a non-pecuniary interest in minute 6, the Festival of Brass funding application, as he is a volunteer at the event and the chairman is known to him.
5. Minutes of the last meeting including questions as to the progress of any item
The minutes of the meeting held on 3 April 2017 were circulated with the agenda. It was RESOLVED to accept them as a true and accurate record.
6. To consider and note the Budget Balances as at 30 April 2017
A report was circulated with the budget balances as of 30 April 2017 explaining any notable spends. Given that it was early in the financial year there was little to report. The Clerk did highlight that there was likely to be an overspend in wages over the course of the year as the Pension Fund had increased the employer contributions percentage, unfortunately this had not been known until after the budget was set.
The increased use of the Town Hall had resulted in the cleaning/caretaking company increasing their price by £75 per month to £825. This was the first increase in the 2 years they had been facilitating the Town Hall, however an increase had was not budgeted for. The income from the Town Hall had exceeded budgeted income over the last 2 years and if that trend continued the extra cost would be more than covered. In response to a question, the clerk explained that the way the Town Hall was cleaned and managed was much more cost effective than employing a member of staff. The previous attempt at employing a member of staff on a 20 hour per month contract and paying for additional hours by the hour had not worked, as office staff were having to cover for holidays etc., and it had been difficult to recruit in the first place. The current arrangement meant that the contractor was paid a flat fee regardless of whether the hall was used every day or once a week. The budget balances were NOTED.
7. Festival Funding Request – Wychavon Festival of Brass
Circulated with the agenda was an application form and supporting documents from the Evesham Festival of Brass who had requested funding of £1,600 from the Town Council for the event.
Dr Valerie Trimm representing the festival was present to answer questions.
Dr Trimm explained that the festival was bigger than ever and that they planned to introduce new ways of engaging with a larger audience including the live streaming of the concerts. Members commented on the thoroughness of the application provided and thanked Dr Trimm.
It was proposed and seconded and RESOLVED that in accordance with the Local Government Act 1972, s 145(d), provision of entertainments, that an award of £1,600 be made to the Evesham Festival of Brass, on the condition that the Town Council is credited in all publicity including posters and flyers.
Dr Trim was thanked for attending the meeting to answer questions.
7. Festival Funding Request – Evesham River Festival
Tabled was an application from the Evesham River Festival requesting funding of up to £4,200. Nicola Adams was on hand and gave a short presentation about what the Council could expect from the event.
Ms Adams explained that she was from a marketing background and had recently joined the organising committee. The committee were keen to make the event more professional in the way it presented itself and had recently unveiled a new logo. She highlighted that it was a community event that attracted many people.
In response to a question she confirmed that the theme was book titles.
It was highlighted by members that some criticism of previous events was that it was poorly publicised with a bad website and no social media presence and people struggled to fund out what was happening and when. Ms Adams agreed but stated that she had joined the organising committee in order to rectify this. The website was to be renovated, and there would be a social media presence. Posters would be adorned around town advertising the event in order to create a bigger visual presence. In addition they had created sponsorship packages for local business in order to create revenue for the event.
The Clerk explained that previously the Council had awarded a grant in kind and paid for invoices up to a certain amount.
Ms Adams confirmed that any money from the Town Council would be spent on fireworks, PA systems and some of the posters.
Members did comment on the poor quality of the application and that in future this would not be acceptable. The Clerk did explain that he had been chasing the organiser for months and that the form had arrived on his desk that morning.
Members agreed that this was a good community event that was important to the town and they RESOLVED to support it with a grant of up to £4,200 to be held by the Town Council and paid in kind on the production of satisfactory invoices. This was done in accordance with the Local Government Act 1972, s 145(d), provision of entertainments. The committee did highlight that in future they would not consider this application without more supporting information.
8. Grants for Organisations - Timetable
Circulated with the agenda was a report asking the committee to confirm the timetable for small grant applications.
Members began debating the process of awarding grants and expressed their frustration that often the information was not provided. It was commented that the form the Council had in place was robust and made clear what evidence the Council required, it now needed to be enforced, i.e. if it was not provided then it would not even be presented to the committee.
The Clerk highlighted that the smaller grants tended to be accompanied by all the required information, it was the grants for festivals which were sometimes short.
It was questioned whether organisations seeking smaller grants should be required to provide all the information, accounts etcetera, given that the amount of money was relatively small and perhaps it should only be required for grants over a certain amount. However, the committee were of the opinion that all grants, both for festivals and charities, should provide all the information requested or if they could not an explanation as to why not would be required. If this information was not provided then the Clerk had the authority not to present it.
It was RESOLVED to consider the grant applications for local groups, organisations etcetera at the committee meeting in September. It was agreed that they should be considered at this time every year.
9. Investment Update
The Town Clerk circulated with the agenda a report updating members as to the value of the Council’s investment with the CCLA Property Fund.
The value of the investment was £98,483 up from £98,343 when last reported.
The Clerk informed the committee that he was looking at accounts from HSBC and Lloyds with dual authorisation and that this would be presented soon.
NOTED
10. Bonfire Night – date confirmation
The Clerk circulated a report asking members to confirm a date for this year’s bonfire, either the 4th or the 5th of November. The bonfire was always on the 5th, but this year it fell on a Sunday meaning that staff costs would be higher due to working on a Sunday, which entitled outdoor staff to double time.
It was commented that the 2016 bonfire was held on a Saturday and had been extremely successful and therefore should be held on the fourth. Countering this, it was commented that every year apart from 2015 had been successful and that the common themes were the weather, it always did well when it was not raining, and the date this being the fifth.
It was also highlighted that the Evesham Town Bonfire was known for always being held on the fifth regardless.
It was RESOLVED to hold this year’s bonfire on Sunday 5th November, and to hold every future bonfire event on the 5th November until it is decided otherwise.
11. Matters of urgency raised, for information only, at the discretion of the Chairman
There were no matters raised under this agenda item.
There being no further business the meeting closed at 7.20 pm.
COUNCILLOR MRS S AMOR
CHAIRMAN