DRAYTON (ABINGDON)
Minutes of the Meeting of the Finance and Personnel Committee of Drayton Parish Council held on Tuesday 23rd November 2021 remotely, at 6.30pm.
Present: Cllrs Pat Athawes (Chairman), Tamsin Crane, Shane McAleavey, Graham Webb and Richard Wade.
Also in attendance: Lorraine Watling (Clerk/RFO).
Public: None
| Minute No. | |
| 33/21 | Apologies for absence: None – all Cllrs were in attendance.. |
| 34/21 | (a) Declarations of Interest: None. (b) Dispensations received by the Clerk: None (c) Use of Delegated Powers: It was noted that the Clerk in discussion with the Chair and Chair of Finance, used delegated authority to approve an additional £100 (if required) to the amount already approved by council, to cover the cost of waste disposal of additional hedge waste as the PC wants the cemetery hedge by the allotments to be cut back hard to reveal the headstones properly. |
| 35/21 | The Minutes of the Meeting of 27th October 2021: The minutes from the meeting held on 28th September 2021 were Approved as a true record. Proposed: Cllr Crane Seconded: Cllr Webb Resolved (unanimous by those in attendance). |
| 36/21 | Asset Register: At the October meeting it was noted that the updating of the asset register and annual walk round to check the assets would be done after the Walnut installation had been completed. This is on-going. It was noted that four new recycled plastic benches and two planters will be purchased from the Cllr Community Grant received from Cllr Webber – these will need to be added to the asset register and insurance policy after they are delivered. It was also noted that the order may have to be paid in advance as the Parish Clerk is a new customer for TPD Ltd. |
| 37/21 | Burial Ground Hedges and Grass: The committee received an oral report from the Clerk about a meeting held between Cllr Harris, one of the Church Wardens, the Clerk, Deputy Clerk and the grass cutting contractor. The use of delegated powers had already been noted at minute 34/21 (c). The Council discussed a recommendation from the Clerk and the Cllr responsible for cemeteries, that all church yard hedges (side and tops) be cut and all clippings to be removed and disposed at a cost of £650.00 + vat plus disposal costs estimated at £100.00. The committee recommended that the PC considers any requests for contributions towards the hedge cutting on a case by case basis. It was noted that the last time these hedges were cut the cost was split 50/50 between the church and the parish council. Action: The Clerk will send the quote to the church and ask how they propose that the hedge cutting is funded. It was noted that a second quote had confirmed that the Church currently gets good value for money for the churchyard grass cuts. |
| 38/21 | Budget 2022-23: To F&P Committee received and considered the following draft information for 2022-23 that had been prepared by the Clerk. The budget for 2022-23. It was noted that: There are predictions noted in the news etc. that the rate of inflation could reach 5% in 2022-23 The PC is working hard to deliver the projects in the Drayton Neighbourhood Plan and money will be needed, in addition to the s106 contributions, to deliver these projects. The tax base for 2022-23 is 1,199.1 The Finance & Personnel Committee recommended to council that the precept be increased by £5,000 in 2022-23 (approximately 5%) and this money be allocated to the 2020 Project Reserve the draft budget as amended be adopted by the council Proposed: Cllr Athawes Seconded: Cllr Wade Resolved: unanimous Action: The Clerk will update the draft budget and circulate before the next Parish Council meeting. Charges for 2022-23: Allotments: The rent is collected at the start of each year and the PC is required to give 1 years notice of rent increases. The rents for 2021-22 had therefore been set in Nov 2020. It was recommended to council that the rents for 2022/23 be increased by approximately 5% across the board resulting in rents of £10.50, £15.75 and £21.00. Proposed: Cllr Webb Seconded: Cllr Athawes Resolved: four votes for and one abstention – Cllr Wade did not participate in the vote as his wife has an allotment. Cemetery Fees: It was recommended to council that in 2022/23 all charges be increased by 5%. Proposed: Cllr Wade Seconded: Cllr Crane Resolved: unanimous Precept for 2022-23: Following the discussions at (a) the Finance and General Purposes Committee recommendedto council that he precept request for Drayton for 2022-23 be £105,280.00 Proposed: Cllr Athawes Seconded: Cllr Wade Resolved: unanimous |
| Reserved Business: Exclusion of the Public and Press. In view of the nature of the business to be transacted any members of the public and press were temporarily excluded from the meeting (Public Bodies (Admission to Meetings) Act 1960 s.1). | |
| 39/21 | Burial Ground: The Parish Council received and noted an update. This will be discussed by full council in December. |
| 40/21 | Miller Homes: All residents will be invited to participate in a survey produced by the PC, to check whether the preferred facilities proposed for Walnut Meadows had changed since the original survey had been undertaken. |
| The Council then went back into public session. | |
| 41/21 | Any Other Business: the following was noted: Implementing the DNP projects: there is CIL funding to use in addition to the s106, and both funding streams have expenditure deadlines. The PC therefore needs to produce a plan for using both types of contribution before the funding expires. The Clerk will contact the Drayton Football Club and request dates where the Football Clubs Chairman and Secretary would be free to have a brief meeting with the Chair and Vice Chair. A complaint that had been received by the PC from a resident. Cllr Webb will try to contact a company called ‘Sundeala’ as they used to produce good quality backing material for notice boards. Some of the Parish Council notice boards are in need of refurbishment. |
| The date of the next meeting. The next Finance and Personnel Committee meeting is scheduled to be held on 25th January 2022. |
The meeting concluded at 8.56pm
Signed: Pat Athawes (Chairman, Finance and Personnel Committee)