Declarations of interest: IH is an allotment holder
17/43. Elect a new Chair Person
CB proposed that MH be voted in as new Chair of the Committee.
It was asked if there were any other candidates, there were none.
IH seconded this proposal and all Cllrs were in favour.
MH took over the Chair role of the meeting and the Committee.
17/44. Elect a new Vice Chair
MH proposed that DW be voted in as new Vice Chair of the Committee.
It was asked if there were any other candidates, there were none.
IH seconded this proposal and all Cllrs were in favour.
DW took over the role of VC for the Committee.
17/45. Public Recess
No public.
17/46. Minutes of the previous committee meeting held on 26th July 2017
No amendments
The minutes of the meeting held on 26th July 2017 were then approved on a resolution by CB and seconded by DW; all at the meeting were in favour.
17/47. Matters arising
None.
17/48. ACTION POINTS
Clerk
- 17/28. Contact Jodie at Wroughton Council to ask what other Councils have committed to funds for the library. DONE
- 17/29. Ask the Tennis Club to provide their public liability insurance documents. ONGOING, waiting for TC to provide info.
- 17/29. Provide the TC with the 2017 figures that make up their payment due to the contract deadline, and provide 2014 figures by the 31st August. 2014 figures DONE, cannot do 2017 until after October.
- 17/37. Advise Cllr Sunners that he can raise the issue of Community Speed Watch meeting attendance being covered by mileage expenses at next full council. If the full council is in agreement, then the Financial Regs can be changed and approved by the Finance Committee and Full Council and Cllr Sunners costs re-imbursed retrospectively. DONE
- 17/38. Create an advert for the PC website to attract quotes for services the same as STORM. Also ask STORM for their SLA details. DONE
- 17/39. Talk to St John’s ambulance in regards to First Aid courses. DONE
- 17/17. Make sure committee chairs are invited to July finance meeting. CARRY FORWARD TO NOVEMBER MEETING
Cllr Brady
- 17/24. Look at holding quarterly strategy meetings. CARRY FORWARD. To be arranged for October at start of precept discussion. Chair and VC of each committee invited.
17/49. Exempt Items
It was proposed CB and seconded by IH that agenda item 20, Minute 17/65 be an exempt item.
Resolved that:
In accordance with Section 100A(4) of the Local Government Act 1972, the public be excluded during the discussion of the matters referred to in the items listed below, on the grounds that they involve the likely disclosure of exempt information, as defined in the respective paragraph of Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the act and the public interest in maintaining the exemption outweighs the public interest in disclosing the information.
Reason for Restriction – Part 1, Schedule 12A Paragraph 5:
“Information in respect of which a claim to legal professional privilege could be maintained in legal proceedings.”
Agenda Item: 20 Minute: 17/65
17/50 Review Accounts
The figures for Sept to date were reviewed with no comments.
A proposal was made by CB and seconded by IH; all were in favour.
Resolved that:
The document supplied by the Clerk represents a true and accurate reflection of the accounts for the month of September to date.
17/51 Vote on funding first aid course for the Clerk costing £295.00 plus VAT with St Johns ambulance
A proposal was made by DW, seconded by CB. All were in favour.
Resolved that:
£295 + VAT be allocated for the Clerk to attend a three-day First Aid Course with St John’s Ambulance.
17/52 Vote on Clerk attending the next level SLCC course to further her knowledge. Cost £79.00 plus VAT
A proposal was made by DW, seconded by CB. All were in favour.
Resolved that:
£79 + VAT be allocated for the Clerk to attend the next level SLCC course.
17/53 Discuss and approve new draft sickness policy
It was confirmed that if the Clerk was off sick she would email the Finance Committee to advise this.
A proposal was made by IH, seconded by DW. All were in favour.
Resolved that:
The draft sickness policy as presented be adopted by the Council.
17/54 Discussion and vote on funding to Wroughton to support the running of their library
The initial thoughts of Cllrs were that £2000 requested was too high in proportion to the % of Chiseldon residents using the Wroughton Library which is around 3%.
CB asked if we could use these funds, and a subsidy from SBC to create our own local book exchange.
IH asked if we need a Parish strategy for providing funds for local library provision, not just deciding to give funds to Wroughton.
CB noted that Wroughton put up their precept to be able to afford to run the library.
More research is needed and we need to see what Wroughton added to their precept to allow them to fund the library.
A proposal was made by PC, seconded by IH. All were in favour.
Resolved that:
The Grant Request be declined by the Finance Committee at this stage but the Clerk should remain in touch with the library in case the Council might be able to assist in the future.
There is an action for the Clerk to write to the Wroughton Clerk asking for more details on their business plan and where the CPC funds would be going.
17/55 Vote on expenditure for hi vis logo’d jackets and magnetic signs for Allbuild staff and vans when in CPC costing £32.10 for jackets and £35.40 for signs
A proposal was made by IH, seconded by CB. All were in favour.
Resolved that:
£32.10 be allocated to the purchase of high-visibility jackets.
£35.40 be allocated for the purchase of magnetic signs.
17/56 Vote on expenditure of £15.90 plus VAT for 6 hi vis vests for the volunteers who will be tending the planters around the parish
A proposal was made by IH, seconded by CB. All were in favour.
Resolved that:
£15.90 plus VAT be allocated to the purchase of six high-visibility vests for volunteers tending planters around the parish.
17/57 Vote on expenditure of 2 new CVPA rockers costing £1290 plus VAT to include delivery and installation
A proposal was made by CB, seconded by PC. All were in favour.
Resolved that:
£1,290 plus VAT be allocated for the purchase of two new “rockers” for delivery and installation at the Castle View Play Area.
17/58 Vote on expenditure of £37.00 for 2 poppy wreaths for Remembrance Day
A proposal was made by MH, seconded by PC. All were in favour.
Resolved that:
£37.00 be allocated for the purchase of two poppy wreaths for Remembrance Sunday.
17/59 Review and vote on 4 available FM tenders
The 4 tenders were to be rated on:
- Service levels and speed of response
- Ability to provide itemised costings on tender as requested
- RoSPA trained staff
- Value for money
The Committee confirm that this short list would be compiled by IH and the Clerk and presented to Full Council in October for a decision.
A proposal was made by DW, seconded by CB. All were in favour.
Resolved that:
The preparation of a short-list be delegated to the Clerk in consultation with IH which shall be presented to full council for a decision at the October full council meeting.
It was noted that the committee need to create a tenders document for future tenders.
The Finance Committee will manage the contract once Full Council has voted on a successful candidate.
17/60 Scanning old documents, discussion and vote on whether to proceed
The committee discussed the available loft space for old documents and that the past 2.5 years of documents are stored on the laptop and backed up regularly and it was decided to wait 6 months and review this item again.
17/61 Changes to networking tea party
After some discussion on the needs of this party, it was decided to move this item to the Oct full council agenda.
17/62 New noticeboard for Hodson. Cost £450.00 approx
This item is out of budgeted funds so already approved.
It was decided to delegate the task of purchasing a board to the Clerk.
A proposal was made by DW, seconded by CB. All were in favour.
Resolved that:
The final decision as to which notice board is purchased be delegated to the Clerk with a report being made at the next Finance Committee meeting.
17/63 Discussion and vote on approving £100 costs for tree survey of Rec ground
A proposal was made by CB, seconded by PC. All were in favour.
Resolved that:
- The clerk contact Swindon Borough Council to establish whether they can conduct the survey at no cost.
- If the Borough Council cannot provide a survey, the Clerk may is authorised to make a payment of £100 for a survey with a private contractor.
- That the Clerk investigates whether the £100 could be reclaimed from the Borough Council.
17/64 Discussion and vote on paying £110 plus VAT on 2 new aluminium lids for the allotment water tanks
A proposal was made by MH, seconded by PC. All were in favour; IH was excluded from the vote as he is an allotment holder.
Resolved that:
£110 plus VAT be allocated for the purchase of two aluminium lids for the Allotment water tanks.
17/65 Discussion and vote on TC payments from Oct 2017 and letter from trustee disputing elements of the lease
The chair of the finance committee had received a letter from one of the trustees of the Tennis Club on their behalf regarding the calculation of the 2017 rent.
The letter raised several issues:
- The Tennis Club stated that the example rental in the lease had not been substantiated.
- It was disputed that the lease was intended to be managed as a formal commercial lease.
- Elements of the maintenance schedule were disputed.
The clerk produced a document initialled in 2014 by the author of the letter which detailed how the example rent was calculated. It was noted that the figures used were budgeted figures.
PC gave the committee some background information as to the drafting of lease, and its intention. The Council made a contribution towards the refurbishment of the courts and arranged for a “peppercorn” rent of £10 to be charged for the first three years. Thereafter, for the remaining nine years, a percentage of the running costs of the Recreation Hall be calculated and re-charged to the Tennis Club. The current lease went through 4 iterations, with the trustee being involved at each stage.
PC explained that the lease was intended to be a red-line under previous disagreements with the Club and was drafted and intended to be managed as a commercial agreement.
MH explained that as the wording stood, he felt that the council could not calculate the 2017 rent until after 01 October 2017 when the council could be confident that all invoices had been received.
A proposal was made by MH, seconded by CB. All were in favour.
Resolved that:
- MH respond to the trustee on behalf of the Finance Committee:
- Enclosing a copy of the initialled document.
- Explaining how the example rent in the lease was calculated.
- Explaining how the example rent was based on budgeted figures.
- Detailing what the actual rent would have been based on actual figures.
- Enclosing documentary evidence of the expenditure including a calculation.
- Reiterating that the lease is a commercial contract.
- Explaining how the 2017 rent will be calculated and when an invoice will be sent.
- The letter is to be copied to the Clerk, all members of the Finance Committee and the Chair of the Tennis Club.
- MH to circulate the draft letter to all Finance Committee members for review and comment.
The invoice that CPC sends will be subject to normal industry controls for the payment of invoices.
PC advised that the TC members need to know that the PC are handling this fairly and in the manner set out in the lease.
IH felt that the terms of the lease should not be varied. MH expressed a wish that if any further legal advice is required regarding the lease, the council should seek legal advice from an alternative solicitor.
The Finance Committee will also require access to the TC’s accounting documents as per the lease.
17/66 Any other business
CB noted that all committees need reminding to consider items for next years’ budget and precept. The Clerk will add an item to each agenda to remind Cllrs.
Meeting closed at 8.59pm
Action Points to be completed by next meeting date
Clerk:
- 17/29. Ask the Tennis Club to provide their public liability insurance documents. ONGOING
- 17/29. Provide the TC with the 2017 figures that make up their payment due to the contract deadline. ONGOING
- 17/17. Make sure committee chairs are invited to July finance meeting. CARRY FORWARD
- 17/50. Clerk to arrange first aid course attendance with St Johns Ambulance.
- 17/51. Clerk to sign up to SLCC course.
- 17/52. Draft up completed version of sickness policy with amendments.
- 17/53. Write to Wroughton Clerk asking for more details on library business plan and where CPC funds would be going. Also need to see Wroughton’s precept for library funds added.
- 17/54. Order jackets and magnetic signs for Allbuild
- 17/55. Order hi vis jackets for planter volunteers
- 17/56. Order new CVPA rockers
- 17/58. With IH, short list FM tender for Oct full council meeting
- 17/58. Create a tender requirement document
- 17/59. Schedule review of scanning old docs for 6 months’ time
- 17/61. Order new noticeboard for Hodson
- 17/62. Ask SBC if they have a new tree specialist for rec ground inspection or whether they can refund our £100 expenditure on arranging the work privately.
- 17/63. Advise water tank lid work can proceed.
- 17/65. Remind all committees that budgets for 2017/18 precept need to be decided on a sent to finance committee for approval.
Cllr Brady:
- 17/24. Look at holding quarterly strategy meetings. CARRY FORWARD. Arrange for October for Chair and VC of each committee.