MINUTES

A Meeting of the Finance Committee of Brampton Parish Council was held

Thu 10 May 2007 at 7.30pm in Brampton Memorial Centre, Thrapston Road, Brampton

Present:	M Shellens, Chairman, S Jordan, J Childs, J Innes-Clarke, Clerk
	The meeting was not quorate
1	To Receive Apologies
	EC, NM, KW, MW
2	To Receive and Approve Minutes of the meeting 13 Mar 2007
Proposal:	Approve – 1^st JC, 2^nd SJ	Carried
3	Matters Arising
3.1	3.1 – utility suppliers – research best value options and available discounts for 1 x supplier
3.2	4.4 – refund for ashstands returned to supplier – chase supplier	JIC
3.3	7.7 - £35k part liquidation investment – cash now received
3.4	9 – Current banking options – with MS & JIC	MS, JIC
3.5	13.2 – process for considering bids for capital funds – group to compile short list decided by PC = Chair +Vice-Chair + 1 member from each committee
3.6	15.1 – 3-year financial forecast – held, pending completion of model financial regs to PC
4	To Approve Mar Payments & Note Receipts
4.1	Total receipts revenue: £3,637 includes: Various income; both centres, cemetery, BM, allotments, play field	Noted
4.2	Total receipts capital: £35,820 includes: B of I Interest - £129 Cash received – part liquidation of investment - £35,000 Interest from Investment - £691	Noted
4.3	Total payments Revenue: £17,662 (exclusive VAT) includes: Monthly mobiles - £74 – under review Monthly fuel grounds - £40 – being monitored Commercial waste collections, MC & CC for 07/08 - £130 Initial gas fuel bill, MC (from 2005) - £3,765
4.5	Total payments Capital: £900 – Secondary glazing to meeting room, CC
Proposal:	Approve payments – 1^st SJ, 2^nd JC	Carried
5	To Approve Apr Payments & Note Receipts
5.1	Total receipts Revenue: £1,728 includes: Various income; both Centres	Noted
5.2	Total payments Revenue: £3,598 (includes VAT where appropriate) includes: Electricity charges Comm Ctr (some adjustments back to Dec 05) - £272 Digital Camera - £120 Quarter 4 grass cutting CCC verges - £1,210 Music Licence, MC - £170 Replacement shutter locks, MC - £180 Note since meeting: Internal kitchen shutters, keys taken by person/s unknown, no spares Hirer’s Insurance, MC & CC for one-off bookings - £369 Note since the meeting: Staff wages, NIC & PAYE, Apr - £7,506
5.3	Total payments Capital: nil
Proposal:	Approve payments – 1^st SJ, 2^nd JC	Carried
6	Income and Expenditure to 31 Mar 2007, year end
6.1	Overall Income above budget by £13.9k – recycling income is £1,429 above budget
	Cost Centre expenditure detail:
	Non Specific:
6.2	Wages – over budget – re-apportionment between cost centres
6.3	Similarly – Employers NIC for same reason
6.4	Insurance – over budget – part apportionment – runs from 1 Jun each year
6.5	Consumables - £345 spent against a zero budget – includes printer cartridges, refuse sacks, bin liners & safety clothing
6.6	Equipment Maintenance - ££1,323 over budget – includes tractor service of £495, parts & servicing to various mowers
6.7	Fuel grounds - £936 spent against zero budget (budget is allocated elsewhere under maintenance)
	Allotments:
6.8	Water – 2^nd 6mthly bill is high – check for leak – this is metered supply Note since meeting: possible leak at meter – Anglia Water to inspect & repair, adjustment to bill to be made if appropriate
6.9	Maintenance – over budget – trees cut to hedge height
6.10	Equipment maintenance overspent – light duty manhole broken – replace with heavy duty manhole cover & frame
6.11	Contingency/New Equipment – overspent – new best kept allotment plaque – now to be returned each year & recycled to new winner each year
	Churchyard & Cemetery:
6.12	Maintenance overspent – overlay footpath work done 06/07 but budget was not C/F from 05/06 + some additional tree work
6.13	Wages – under budget – due to re-apportionment between cost centres
6.14	Topple testing – budget allocated for 07/08
	Benches, Shelters, Milestones:
6.15	Contingency/New Equipment – 2 x bus shelters, £8.4k C/F to 07/08
	Street Lighting
6.16	Contingency/New Equipment – 2 x columns (Chestnut Close & Playing Field), £2k C/F to 07/08
	P3, Parish Path Partnership
6.17	Maintenance – balance of £150 unspent money for NMU Crossing Campaign – C/F to 07/08
	Community Centre
6.18	Maintenance – overspent £527 due to exterior painting & small roof repairs
	Memorial Centre
6.19	Equipment Maintenance – over budget – 2 x charges for annual maintenance to fire extinguishers fell in same year (no accrual done for 05/06) + £100 insurance excess, replace 6 double glaze units + replace fire alarm panel & call out (to be repaid by youth service) + replacement oven door (costs to come through court)
6.20	Other expenditure - £250 – recruitment fee for cleaner
6.21	Income – more received than budget by £5k
	Playing Fields
6.22	Income – more than expected by £1.4k helped by car parking fees for workers from Hurdles development
6.23	Water – over budget by £300 – check for sewerage abatement due	JIC
6.24	Equipment maintenance – under budget by £900 - £450 allocated for rolling programme of bin replacement that has not been required
6.25	Contingency/New Equipment – over budget by ££1.7k – £ 677 for motorbike inhibitor barriers, ££372 for 50% to new goal sets, £100 insurance excess for replace vandalised benches
	Play Areas
6.26	£5k C/F to 07/08 for new equipment
6.27	Equipment Maintenance – over budget by £623 as a result of repairs required following safety inspections
	Parish Communications
6.28	Profit over the year £71
	Capital
6.29	Other Income - £35k – part liquidation of investment
6.30	Contingency - £7.5k – Meeting room, Community Centre
6.31	Memorial Build, phase 3 - £22.7k – 12mth retention paid for Memorial Centre
	Overall Income & Expenditure
6.32	Contingency – shows an extra £7.5k – is figure correct – check	JIC
	Note since meeting: Capital expenditure of £7.5k included in revenue & capital reports in error – after correction, net revenue figure at year end is an overall under-spend of £3.8k
6.33	Wages, overtime & employer’s NIC – on budget over these 3 account codes
6.34	Pensions – not take up by staff
6.35	Insurance – over budget by £652
6.36	Water – over budget by £375, due to Playing Field & Allotments (as above)
6.37	Licences – over budget by £280, Memorial Centre Premises Licence is chargeable due to alcohol element
6.38	Equipment Maintenance – over budget by £2.2k
6.39	Stationery/Postage – over budget by £356
6.40	Section 137 - £500 grant for Brampton Youth Forum C/F to 07/08
6.41	Other expenditure - £731 – advertising for staff & recruitment fee
6.42	Parish Communications – under-spent by £1.5k
7	Bank Balances
7.1	Overall cash figure of £253k
7.2	Deduct 6mth precept received for 07/08 of £69k
7.3	Deduct accruals, debtors, creditors & ring fencing of £30k
7.4	Net reserves after these deductions - £154k
8	Year end outturn
	MS & JIC to finalise	MS, JIC
9	Financial Report for Annual Assembly
	MS will make a factual statement & give a finance report	MS
10	Internal Audit
10.1	MS & JIC have answered queries resulting from interim audit as at 30 Nov 06
10.2	Final audit will be done on site during inspection period, first week of June
11	Annual Return & External Audit
11.1	All books and associated paperwork currently with accountants who will produce our Financial Statements
11.2	Finance will need to meet to approve these
11.3	Period for public inspection is 1 to 28 Jun
11.4	Annual return & external audit is due 2 July
12	Investment
12.1	Current valuation - £42,971 + cash of £276
12.2	Recommend no change to current investment at this time
13	Separate telephone line – Bookings Clerk
13.1	Now bookings have increased considerably the clerk has requested we consider separate line in her home, dedicated for bookings only
13.2	£25 one-off installation + £11 per month line rental
Proposal:	Approve – 1^st SJ, 2^nd JC	Carried
14	Consideration of financial support for home broadband connections for members
	Dial up is slow & expensive during peak times. Broadband is quick and there are many providers offering a reasonable monthly charge – ask PC to consider	PC
15	Receipts – consideration of a ‘No Cash Policy’
	Cash deposits can be cumbersome & time consuming – recommend we receive cheque payments only
Proposal:	Recommend approval	PC
16	To consider the Internal Control Procedures and Financial Regulations
	C/F to future meeting
17	Cost Centres and Accounting Format for 2007/08
	MS & JIC to do	MS, JIC
18	Other items for financial consideration/future agenda item
18.1	Section 137 expenditure: Limit for 2007/08 is £5.64 per elector
18.2	Find out what % of budget do Godmanchester, Buckden & Huntingdon allocate for their Section 137	JIC
	_______________________
	Mike Shellens, Chairman