Issue - meetings

To seek Cabinet approval to re-allocate balances currently held in earmarked reserves and the Council’s General Fund in line with the Council’s priorities.

Members considered the Amendment to Reserves report presented by Councillor Boden.

Councillor Boden said that Councillor Count had questioned why the reserve balance was reduced from £2.622M to the exact sum of £2M, suggesting that a detailed calculation may produce a more appropriate and precise figure.  Councillor Boden will be sending a more detailed explanation to Councillor Count to show what officers have suggested. However, the amount of reserves as a proportion of our spend is what is important and Members will be considering the figures further before setting the main budget.

Councillor Mrs French said that in respect of elections she has repeatedly asked why the parish and town councils have not been sent their invoices. Councillor Boden said that he was pleased to confirm that the invoices will be sent before the end of this month, giving the councils plenty of time to pay before the end of the financial year. Councillor Mrs French thanked Councillor Boden.

Cabinet AGREED to approve the reallocation of reserves set out in the report, including the creation of an Investment Strategy Reserve, and recommend that Council approve the creation of a Budget Equalisation Reserve and an Elections Reserve for the reasons set out in the report.