Agenda and minutes
Venue: Council Chamber - Port Talbot Civic Centre. View directions
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Member's Declaration of Interest Minutes: The
following Member made a declaration of Interest at the commencement of the
meeting:- Councillor M Harvey Re the report of the Corporate
Directors’ Group in relation to the Budget Proposals for 2018/19 as it relates
to CCTV as he works for the South Wales Police. |
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Budget Proposals for 2018/19 Minutes: Committee
received the report of the Corporate Directors’ Group on the Budget Proposals
for 2018/19. Members noted that the
report had been updated as a result of additional monies received from Welsh
Government. In addition the Director of
Finance and Corporate Services advised that Welsh Government had given a 2 year
indicative budget, with a further -1% for 2019/20. Also more of the specific grants were now
included in the settlement. Members
then made the following comments:- ·
The low increase in the Authority’s Council Tax (3.7%) was welcomed. ·
ELL802
Celtic Leisure savings - The reduction in savings from £100k to £50k was
raised and Members were advised that the Sports Council for Wales was out for
consultation in relation to the Swimming Grant and that should this be cut it
would impact on Celtic Leisure. In
relation to the Aberafan Seafront as a whole the
Chief Executive advised that the area had seen an increase in the number of
visitors and that it was necessary to maintain this going forward. The Pontardawe
Swimming Pool, run by Celtic Leisure, needed investment as the pool was old and
needed upgrading. The situation in
relation to Celtic Leisure would continue to be monitored closely. ·
The proposal to retain the free Christmas parking was supported, however
Members felt that the £3.50 charge at the Gnoll
Country Park could result in indiscriminate parking outside nearby houses and
the possibility that emergency services would be prevented from accessing.
Members asked whether consideration could be given to placing double yellow
lines on nearby streets and to increase policing by the Authority. Officers advised that the proposals would
result in an additional income of £30k and that the charges would also cover
events at the Park. In addition Members
were reminded that income generation would play an increasing part in setting
the budget going forward. Officers would
look at ways of reducing/eliminating the potential problem of off street
parking. Some Members felt that, in relation to the parking charges at the Gnoll, the cost of a season ticket of £52 was good value at
an average cost of £1 per week. ·
Members asked whether the 2018/19 pay award for staff had been finalised
and were advised that the Trade Unions were currently consulting their
Membership. It was anticipated that the
Trade Unions would respond in March. ·
The report referred to ‘savings and efficiencies’, some Members felt
that these should be referred to as ‘cuts’, in order to highlight to members of
the public the year on year financial pressures on the Authority by Welsh
Government. The Director of Finance and
Corporate Services agreed that going forward the definitions should change to
either ‘cuts’ or ‘income generation’ as appropriate. ·
In relation to the delegation of Fees and Charges to Corporate
Directors, some Members were not happy with this proposal. The Director however advised that this had
been a longstanding recommendation, to assist in the operational issues around
services particularly where notice of increases needed to be given. · Members ... view the full minutes text for item 2. |
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Capital Programme 2018/19 to 2020/21 Minutes: Members
considered the report of the Head of Financial Services in relation to the above
and were pleased with the work carried out to date and to the funding accessed. Members
noted, in particular, the progress of the Neath Town Centre Regeneration
Project. Following
scrutiny, the Committee was supportive of the proposal to be considered by
Cabinet. |
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Treasury Management Strategy, Annual Investment Strategy and Minimum Revenue Provision Policy Minutes: Committee
received the report of the Director of Finance and Corporate Services in relation
to the above. Members asked how accurate
were the Authority’s Consultants, Link Asset Services, in relation to the
creditworthiness information it provided and were advised that the information provided
was useful to the Authority, with good short term predictions. Following
scrutiny, the Committee was supportive of the proposals to be considered by
Cabinet |