Agenda item

General Fund Revenue Budget 2019/20

Report of the Strategic Director (Finance and Resources) attached.

Minutes:

The Cabinet considered a report of the Corporate Management Team presenting a 2019/20 General Fund revenue budget including schools and a proposal for the level of Council Tax for 2019/20.  This item was considered by all three Scrutiny Committees.

 

Recommended:

 

In respect of 2018/19:

 

1. That the forecast outturn of £76.209 million, be noted.

 

2. That the appropriation of the sums from earmarked reserves totalling £14.283 million, as set out in detail in appendix 13 to the submitted report, be approved.

 

3. That the appropriation of the sums from earmarked reserves totalling £7.595 million, as set out in appendix 13 to the report, be approved.

 

In respect of 2019/20 and later years:

 

4. That the Section 151 Officer’s (Strategic Director of Finance and Resources) report on the robustness of the proposed budget, the adequacy of the Council’s reserves and the Reserves Strategy, as set out in appendix 1 to the report, be acknowledged.

 

5. That a General Fund net revenue budget for 2019/20 of £80.755 million, as set out in appendix 3 to the report,  and any required commencement of consultation, statutory or otherwise, be approved.

 

6. That a Council Tax increase of 4.49% for the Southend-on-Sea element of the Council Tax for 2019/20, being 2.99% for general use and 1.5% for Adult Social Care, be approved.

 

7. That it be noted that the 2019/20 revenue budget has been prepared on the basis of using £2.5 million from the Collection Fund for the core budget to allow for a smoothing of the budget gap across the next three financial years.

 

8. That the position of the Council’s preceptors be noted as follows:

 

·         Essex Police – approved Council Tax 14.16%;

·         Essex Fire & Rescue Services – approved Council Tax increase of 2.94%;

·         Leigh-on-Sea Town Council – approved precept increase of 1.73%.

 

9. That no Special Expenses be charged other than Leigh-on-Sea Town Council precept for 2019/20.

 

10. That the appropriation of the sums from earmarked reserves totalling £9.429 million, as set out in appendix 13 to the report, be approved.

 

11. That the appropriation of the sums from earmarked reserves totalling £7.891 million, as set out in appendix 13 to the report, be approved.

 

12. That the schools’ budget and its relevant distribution as recommended by the Education Board and as set out in appendix 2 to the report, be approved.

 

13. That the on-going budget investment required of £6.610 million (appendix 11 to the report) and the General Fund and Public Health budget reductions required of £4.363 million (appendix 12 to the report) and the subsequent individual service cash limits for 2019/20, as contained in appendices 3 to 10 of the report, be approved.

 

14. That the one-off investment items, as set out in paragraph 5.28 and included within the appropriations set out in appendix 13 to the report, be approved.

 

15. That the direction of travel for 2020/21 and beyond and in particular noting the need for the organisation to move to a longer term and outcome based budgeting approach, be endorsed.

 

16. That the revised Medium Term Financial Strategy up to 2023/24, set out in appendix 14 to the report, be approved.

 

Note:- This is a Council Budget Function, not eligible for call in by virtue of Budget and Policy Framework Procedure Rule 1.1(b)

Cabinet Member: Cllr Lamb

 

Supporting documents:

 

Get the best from this site

We use simple text files called 'cookies'. Some of these cookies are essential to make our site work and others help us to improve by giving us some insight into how the site is being used. For more information, including how to turn cookies off, see more about cookies - or simply click the Continue button to use this site as normal.