STORRINGTON & SULLINGTON PARISH COUNCIL

Minutes of the Meeting of the Finance and Budget Committee held in the Skylight Room, Sullington Parish Hall, Thakeham Road, Storrington, on Monday, 18th June, 2007, commencing at 7.30 p.m.

Present: Mr. R. Dawe in the Chair, Mr. A. Head, Mr. C. Mason, Mr. A. Mullard, Mr. J. Sanson Mrs. L. Wheatley and Mrs. A. Worthington-Leese.

1.    Apologies for Absence.  All Members were present.

2.    To Receive Declarations of Interest from Members.  There were no declarations of interest from Members.

3.    To Approve and Sign the Minutes of the last Meeting held on the 17th January, 2007.   These minutes were duly AGREED to be a correct record of the proceedings thereat and were signed by the Chairman.

    Matters Arising.

4.    Minute No. 23: 4Sight – A letter of thanks for donation had been received.

5.    Report from Clerk re: Treasury Reserve Account.  The Clerk reported that £1,848.36 interest had so far been received and there was currently the sum of £125,000 invested at 4.91% interest.

    To Consider the following requests for Donations :-

6.    Storrington Parish Church.  The Revd. Acheson of St. Mary’s Church, Storrington had requested a donation of £3,325.00 towards the cost £6,650.00 plus V.A.T., of Health and Safety works to make gravestones in the cemetery safe.  There were 122 unsafe gravestones, the great majority of which were Priority 1 (the most urgent).  H.D.C., had a statutory responsibility for the upkeep of the closed churchyard.  An officer of H.D.C., had apparently said that the District Council would be prepared to pay half the cost to cover basic safety work by laying the offending headstones flat.  The inference from the church was that they wanted the Parish Council to pay the other half of the cost.

    Currently this Council donated the sum of £900.00 towards the maintenance of the Sullington churchyard, and it was suggested that this might be an appropriate amount to offer to Storrington.  

H.D.C’s budget for churchyards was £109,000.  Mr. Dawe had asked H.D.C., to provide a breakdown of this budget to see where this money would go.

    Mr. Dawe Proposed; Seconded Mrs. Worthington-Leese and UNANIMOUSLY AGREED :-

    To donate the sum of £900 as a one-off payment with the proviso that the remainder of the monies were found to make these gravestones safe in an up-right position.  This would only be on the basis that our local District Councillors were satisfied that this was a fair way of  dealing  with  this  matter.

The final decision on this should be taken by the Recreation and Property Committee when they were in a position to make the final decision based on information obtained from H.D.C.  Should this matter become urgent, it could be necessary to obtain a consensus from Members and then to ratify this at the next meeting.
 
7.    Outset to support ongoing volunteering work with young people.  Following discussion Mr. Dawe Proposed;  Seconded Mrs. Worthington-Leese and UNANIMOUSLY AGREED :-

        That the sum of £50.00 should be donated.

8.    Friends of Storrington School had submitted a list of items that they required together with prices.  Following discussion it was AGREED :-

    To purchase the following items for them: Tombola Drum at £24.99 together with two Advertising Banners at £35.00 each.  The wording “donated by Storrington and Sullington Parish Council” should be placed on the banners.
 
9.    Storrington Greenfingers had supplied a copy of their accounts for the last financial year.  Following discussion it was AGREED :-

    That the Council should donate the sum of £1,500.00 towards their work during this financial year.

10.    Storrington Bonfire Society had written about the difficulties they were facing with regard to a new site for the bonfire.  The Bonfire Society requested that the Council include in its budget a provision for financial assistance to ensure continuity of this popular community event.  It was AGREED :-

    That this was a very good event, the Council was sympathetic, but that the Bonfire Society should come back to the Council after the 2007 event and advise of the exact costs of staging this, and should there be a shortfall, the Council would be willing to make a contribution.

11.    Insurance Renewal.  The annual premium this current financial year was £10,882.42.  The Parish Council already received the discount for insuring with Allianz Cornhill for a five-year term.

12.    To Consider the Out-Turn Report for the next Financial Year 1st April, 2006 to 31st March, 2007.  This document was duly NOTED.  It was suggested that the expenditure on hedges should be included within Grounds Maintenance and that the ‘Hedges and Fences’ category should change to ‘Fences’.

13.    To Consider the 2006/2007 Financial Year Accounts for Audit and make recommendations to Council for Approval.  These documents were gone through in details and a few queries were raised.  The Clerk was requested to check these prior to presentation to Council for approval.

    Discussion ensued regarding aging debtors, following which Mrs. Worthington-Leese Proposed; Seconded Mr. Sanson and UNANIMOUSLY AGREED :-

    The terms and conditions of hire should state clearly the terms of payment, i.e., within 30 days.  After three months interest would be added and legal proceedings taken.  The hirer would be responsible for such legal costs.

    At every Parish Council Meeting an Aged Debtors List should be presented.
  
14    Review of Financial Regulations and Financial and Non-Financial Risk Assessments.  These were duly AGREED.

15    S.A.L.C. Subscriptions.  Following discussion it was AGREED to advise S.A.L.C., that:-

    The Council were extremely dissatisfied and wanted a more detailed explanation as to why the subscription had been increased so much.  Also, to ask what controls there would be for next year.

16.    St. Mary’s Church, Sullington had presented a copy of their Accounts for the year 2006.  These were duly NOTED.

17.    Staff Salary Review.  The Clerk left the meeting whilst this item was given consideration.

    The decision of the meeting was :-

    That the Clerk and Assistant Clerks salaries should be increased by 3.25%.  Caretaker salaries should remain the same.

    Discussion then ensued regarding the current workload in the office, which was very high.  It was AGREED :-

    The Interview Working Party (Mr. Head, Mr. Mullard, Mr. Roper and Mrs. Wheatley) should meet as soon as possible to look at:-

•    the plans for changing the office layout
•    usage of the Skylight Room
•    come up with suggestions for the Parish Council.

18.    Chairman’s Announcements.

    Undulations in the Football Pitch.  The cost of remedial works would be £2,915.00, which was not budgeted for.  It was AGREED that :-

    Apart from a token payment to keep the grass safe in terms of Health and Safety, all other costs should be paid by the Football Club.  Mr. Mason was delegated to speak with the Football Club about this.

There being no further business the meeting closed at 9.45 p.m.