F&GP Papers 30.03.22 – With Exclusions
Minutes of the Finance & General Purposes Committee
Meeting Held Wednesday 05 January 2022 at 6:30 PM
Those present :
Chairman : Cllr A Carr
Vice-Chairman : Cllr J Sayers
Councillors : Cllr K Hughes, Cllr T Hughes, Cllr P Mc Kinley
Officers : S Lawrence, A Mc Intyre
1 Apologies for Absence
Apologies have been received from Cllr Jo Burns, Cllr C Carlsen and Cllr J Desmond.
2 Declarations of Interest
None Received.
3 Public Participation.
Due to Covid 19 Regulations public attendance at this meeting will be limited to 6
people. None attended.
4 To Confirm the Minutes of the Last Meeting
RESOLVED that the minutes of the meeting held on 29th September 2021 for
Finance & General Purposes Committee were approved as a correct record.
5 Treasurer’s Report and Financial Statements
The Town Clerk informed the budgets were on target for this time of year, and
budgets continue to be monitored robustly.
RESOLVED that the Financial Statement as of 5th January 2022 be noted.
6 Budget Report 22-23
The Town Clerk informed members the recommendation from officers is the precept
demand for 2022-23 be raised to cover the increased running costs of the Council
and to cover some, if not all, of the proposed works. This would mean a precept
increase of £18 to £124.06 per Band D property, a 35p per week increase if all the
works in the Asset Maintenance Plan were funded. This would give an overall
precept level of £830,916 or 77p per week per resident. This is a 16.89% increase in
the precept.
The increase proposed would allow a considerable number of works to move forward
within the Council’s core business strategy of improving the parks and upgrading the
estate.
Cllrs Comments:-
⦁ MTC have received zero funding from Sefton Council.
⦁ Ask Sefton to re-introduce the double rating for MTC. Town Clerk to formally write
to Sefton MBC.
⦁ Meadows Leisure Centre currently use MTC car park free of charge, the car park
has to be maintained. The proposed charge to Sefton MBC would be £12,000 p.a.
ex VAT. All members agreed for the Town Clerk to formally write to Sefton MBC for
the above charge.
RESOLVED that:-
1. Agreed to recommend to Full Council the precept be increased by 16.89% which is
£18;the financial year 2022-23;
2. Agreed to recommend to Full Council the proposed budget for the
forthcoming financial year 2022-23;
3.Town Clerk to formally write to Sefton MBC regarding the double rating for
MTC;
4. Town Clerk to formally write to Sefton MBC regarding the charge for the use
of car park at £12,000 per annum;
5. The report be noted.
7 Vexatious Complainant Policy
The Town Clerk informed members that a Vexatious Complaints Policy was drafted
to enable the MTC to deal with those matters which fall under its remit. The
appropriate way to deal with constant complaints from the same person or group is to
have a policy which clearly sets out how MTC will approach the matter and how any
subsequent complaints will be dealt with.
RESOLVED that:-
1. Members agreed the recommendation to take the proposed Vexatious
Complaints policy to next Full Council meeting;
2. The report be noted.
8 Chairman’s Closing Comments
The Chair thanked all members for attending the meeting.
9 Exclusion of Press & Public
RESOLVED that the press and public be excluded due to confidential nature of
the item under discussion.
10 Debtors to the Council
The Town Clerk informed members MTC needs to ensure that it has robust methods
in place to recover monies it is owed. To ensure all debt is paid and measures are
put into place to recover any outstanding debt.
RESOLVED that:-
1. All members reviewed the position of bad debts;
2. All members agreed that the Responsible Finance Officer pursues any debt
using the debtors’ procedures. If payment is still not received the RFO/Town
Clerk is authorised to pursue the outstanding debt, possibly by use of a debt
collection agency or legal services;
3. The report be noted.
