PARISH COUNCIL OF NEWLANDS
MINUTES OF THE FINANCE COMMITTEE MEETING HELD ON THURSDAY 7 NOVEMBER 2019
AT THE COMMUNITY HALL, NEWLANDS AVENUE, WATERLOOVILLE COMMENCING AT 7.30
pm
Members: Cllr F Tingle (Chairperson) (P) Cllr O Barneveld (P)
Cllr A Berry Cllr A Carden (P)
Cllr D Crichton Cllr A Kirby (P)
Cllr J Parry (P) Cllr L Price (P)
Cllr M Read (from 8.00pm) (P)
Also present one member of the public and Tony Daniells, Clerk to the Council..
012/20F Apologies: Apologies were received from Cllrs Crichton and Berry and from Cllr Read for lateness
013/20F Declarations of Interest: There were no declarations of interest made at this time.
014/20F Minutes of the Previous Meeting
The minutes from the Council Meeting dated 11 July 2019 were received. It was unanimously
RESOLVED that the minutes of the Finance Committee meeting be accepted as an accurate
record and were duly signed by the Chair.
015/20F Public Participation: It was AGREED to allow a public session towards the end of the meeting.
016/20F Appointment of Internal Auditor
a) Prior to confirming the appointment of a local resident as the Internal Auditor, the Clerk was asked
to request a copy of her accountancy qualification and to request she signed a confidentially
agreement. Confirmation of the appointment would be consider at the next Council meeting.
NOTED.
017/20F Finance
a) Orders for Payment: It was unanimously RESOLVED that the payments detailed on the Orders for
Payment (list 06) should be APPROVED in the sum of £725.25 including VAT and that NIL receipts are
noted. Further payments of £520.32 (including VAT) made since the last orders of payment were
RATIFIED.
b) Bank Statement: The October bank statement had been previously circulated. The statement was reviewed and
the balance as at 31 October 2019 was agreed. The statement was signed at the meeting by the Chairman.
NOTED.
c) Accounts: The accounts to 31 October 2019 had been previously circulated. NOTED.
The Committee identified future spends of against the purchase of equipment for the community hall and the
Clerks salary. Any underspend in the current financial year would be used to offset the precept in 2020/21. Cllr
Price advised that any Reserve could not exceed the Precept.
d) Financial reporting: Cllr Price suggested an improvement to financial controls with invoices and
receipts being numbered. It was AGREED to adopt this improvement. The Clerk advised that he
maintained an asset register of council assets.
018/20F Budget Review 2019/2020
The Committee reviewed each line item of the 2019/20 budget and estimated future spend against
each line.
i. The newly formed Amenities Committee may require some funding
ii. Funds remaining in the current financial year should be directed to community benefit
iii. Future items could be for a printer and a projector
iv. Audit fees will be £200 for the External Auditor
v. Business Rates: The Clerk had applied to WCC for exemption and was awaiting a reply
vi. Election Expenses: WCC had not replied on any costs for the May local election but the
Clerk considered that there would be no cost to the Parish Council for an uncontested
election. The next normal election would be in 2023. An election caused by a vacancy where
a poll had been requested by residents would cost an estimated £3,000.
vii. Hall Hire: there should be no spend as the Council now had use of the community hall
viii. Insurance: This would only increase if the value of assets increased
ix. PAT testing: There would be a need to test some equipment and a figure of £100 was
suggested from contingency
Cllr M Read joined the meeting
x. Legal fees: No known spend but adoption of open space would require legal advice.
xi. Membership: Subscriptions to HALC would use this allocation.
xii. Newsletter: Publication of a newsletter should be referred to Council for consideration.
xiii. Payroll Admin: This was currently costing £40 per quarter.
xiv. Postage: Retain at the current allocation
xv. Salary: Will be spent as allocated.
xvi. Stationery: keep as allocated but consider using County Supplies
xvii. Telephone: virtual landline charge of £5.99 per month area allocated to this line
xviii. Training: the need for training should be considered by Council. Thje Southern Parishes
group may organise a group session for new councillors.
xix. Utility Bills: No spend so far but the Council would pay their share of utility costs for the
community hall. Any spend should be covered by hiring income. Maintenance and
vandalism may use up this allocation so it should be retained.
xx. Web hosting: The Committee discussed retaining the current web site with HugoFox against
the cost of a professionally designed website or a compromise solution with web hosting
only. The current website was inflexible and space was also limited. The costs of using
VOXIT were considered and the cost of maintenance was also discussed. It was AGREED
that Cllr Parry would research other web options and refer these to the net Council
meeting.
xxi. Other items of spend were a further £933 for chairs/table for the community hall and an
estimate of £1000 for blinds. Councillor travelling expenses should be included in a future
budget and the HMRC approved mileage rate should be adopted by the next Finance
Committee meeting. A sum of £50 should be allocated to cleaning supplies for the
community hall.
019/20F Budget 2020/21
In the discussions on the 2020/21 budget, The Committee considered that
i. As land was adopted, commuted sums from the Developer would be transferred to the Parish
Council and be expected to fund maintenance for a period of 20 years.
ii. WCC may retain land and any maintenance of the land would be funded for 20 years
by commuted sums. It was probable that WCC would put a charge on the Parish for
maintenance of any additions to the land such a play equipment. It was suggested that
2% be added to the budget for this.
iii. For 2020 the clerks salary would I increase in line with the public sector increases
iv. Bus shelters could be added at 1/2 per year. This would cost £800 per shelter
v. An allocation of £1,000 for Community Grants should be included in the budget.
vi. Dog bins could be added to open space land and the cost of the bin and emptying would
need to be costed. It was unknown if WCC would fund dual purpose bins.
vii. Welcome signs to Newlands and directional signs to the community hall could also be
considered.
viii. It had not been decided if traffic calming measures would be used by the Parish so costs
were unknown.
ix. Any additions to the insurance policy were also unknown
020/20F It was AGREED to extend the meeting by 15 minutes to allow a public session.
The meeting closed at 9.43 pm. The next meeting will be held on 9 January 2020
Finance Committee meeting – 7 November 2019
Public Sessions
A resident of the parish wished to comment with suggestions on the budget discussions.
• Council would offer public printing/copying e.g. 5p per side, to generate income
• PAT testing could be carried out by a suitably qualified local resident
• What does the Lease refer to with regards to paying utility charges
• Blinds for the hall can be obtained at a lower cost
• Should Council consider an illuminated advertising sign
• What was the outcome of transfer of ownership of open space and a request to manage/own
managed land?
