Earley Town Council

Minutes of a meeting of the Policy & Resources Committee held in the Council Chamber, Council Offices, Radstock Lane, Earley, Berkshire on Wednesday, 19^th September 2007 commencing at 7.45 pm.

Councillors C J W Edmunds, N Jorgensen, Mrs Jenny Lissaman and T Maher.

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors Anne Ames, A T Bradley (holiday) and Mrs L Chambers.

The Minutes of the meeting of the Policy & Resources Committee held on 18^th July 2007 were confirmed as a true record and signed by the Chairman.

The Committee noted details of the financial transactions for the period ending 30^th June 2007, a copy of which is appended to these Minutes.

In response to a question from a Member as to why the Staff advertising costs had exceeded the amount budgeted, the Town Clerk reminded Members that, due to a staff retirement, the manual staff section had been restructured which resulted in the creation of a new Amenities & Leisure Management post and the employment of further staff. It was, also, noted that the advertising budget was difficult to predetermine as it was dependant on staff turnover. Councillors agreed to review the budget allocation for 2008/09.

With regard to the amount expended on legal and professional fees, the Town Clerk offered to send a breakdown for Members’ information.

Further to a question regarding the lower than anticipated amount of interest received from the Bank and investments, the Town Clerk advised that the Precept had not been received from Wokingham Borough Council until May this year. However the October payment had been received earlier than expected and, therefore, it was expected that the amount would be off-set. The Town Clerk would provide a comparison with 2006/07 for Members’ information.

A Member asked whether the presentation of the financial transactions could be amended to show the phased “actual” figures against the phased “budget” requirements.

The Chairman informed the Committee that the layout of the financial information had been simplified for Committee purposes, but that any Member would be welcome to inspect the full computerised version of the accounts held in the Council Offices.

1. the budget allocation for staff advertising costs for 2008/09 be reviewed at the appropriate time

3. comparison figures of bank and investment income for 2006/07 and 2007/08 to date be forwarded to Members.

4. consideration be given to the creation of a separate budget line for the Sol Joel Park project.

Consideration was given to the Minutes of the Youth & Community Sub-Committee held on 4^th September 2007, a copy of which is appended to these Minutes.

In response to a suggestion that the Town Council should form a response to the Berkshire West Primary Care Trust Commissioning Strategy 2008-2011, it was noted that, as the Response form was very much tailored to individuals as opposed to organisations, any response from this Council would only be treated as a single reply and, therefore, it was further suggested that it would be more prudent for Members to respond on an individual basis.

RESOLVED that the report be received and the Recommendations contained therein be adopted.

Members were advised that under the provisions of the Representation of the People Act 1983, Wokingham Borough Council was required to undertake a review of polling districts/places/stations and had to consult with, amongst others, all Town and Parish Councils within the area.

Consideration was, therefore given to a letter received from the Returning Officer, together with a background to the review and a schedule of the current arrangements appertaining to the Wards that were within the Town of Earley. Members noted that the full document, which gave information about other Wards within the Borough, was available from the Town Clerk on request.

Comments and observations on the review had to be submitted in writing to Wokingham Borough Council no later than 1^st October 2007.

Some Members were of the opinion that the comments relating to Maiden Erlegh School had been overstated and the suggested alternative venues would not be suitable due to either parking, traffic or location practicalities. It was, further, suggested that School INSET days, should in the future, be planned to coincide with known Election days to ease the traffic and parking situation.

RESOLVED that Wokingham Borough Council be informed of Earley Town Council’s response as follows:

· Maiden Erlegh School remain as a Polling Station for a further year pending a review of evidence with regard to the number of complaints received

· the alternative venues for the Redhatch and Maiden Erlegh Polling Stations not be proceeded with

· the proposed ramp to be installed at the Hawkedon School Polling Station be welcomed

· that the suggested solutions with regard to the other Polling District combinations be proceeded with.

The Committee noted that the Internal Auditor had completed his internal audit review for 2006/07 and his report was attached to the Agenda for the information of Members only.

With regard to the revenue balances, the Town Clerk informed Members that the reduction had occurred because it had been the Committee’s decision not to allow, in the precept, for the Earmarked Reserves at the beginning of the year.

In response to a question from a Member as to whether there was a reserve contingency and, if so, what it entailed, the Town Clerk advised that a Council, being a Statutory Body, could not go into liquidation as, legally, the Council Tax would have to be raised. The reserve contingency was a cash flow contingency which was sufficient to cover the interim period should the Precept from Wokingham Borough Council be received late.

With regard to a question from a Member with regard to the ongoing cost implications of an alternative financial computer system, in respect of implementation, training, support and software, the Town Clerk reported that, although there were programmes written specifically for Local Councils, many of them were written for the smaller Parishes and probably would not be suitable for this Council. He was currently investigating a module written by an independent company that would be compatible with the current Sage system and would convert it into a suitable format for auditing and accounting purposes.

1. the Town Clerk inquire of the Internal Auditor the level of Reserves required

2. the Town Clerk investigate the implications with regard to the possible addition of VAT on hall hire

3. the Town Clerk evaluate alternative accounting systems and submit a report to this Committee in the new year.

Members noted that the Audit Commission had approved the appointment of Mr Alun Williams, from the Commissions Southern Regional Office, as Auditor to Earley Town Council for the year ending 31^st March 2007.

The appointment of an Auditor for 2007/08 and beyond was dependent upon the Tender process due to be undertaken by the Audit Commission later this year.

Members noted that the audited accounts for 2006/07 were due to be audited commencing week 15^th October 2007. The appropriate notices had been posted.

The Committee noted details of Orders for Payment paid since the last meeting of the Town Council.

In response to a question from a Member in respect of the tree bark cost, the Town Clerk informed Members that, due to the restructure of the Manual Staff section, it had been possible, for the first time, to negotiate a discount and bulk-buy bark for all the Town Council’s play areas. In addition, the play bark at Sol Joel Park had had to be completely dug out and replenished, the old sand pit had been dug out and refilled with bark and a stock was being held for topping-up as and when necessary.

With regard to a further question from a Member, the Town Clerk advised that energy efficient light bulbs were used in the Town Council owned premises wherever possible.

RESOLVED that the various accounts set out on the attached list (Vouchers 195 - 273) be paid in the sums as stated and details of the Imprest Vouchers (073 - 107) be noted

The Committee noted that the following items had been received and were available for viewing in the Council Chamber: