Agenda and draft minutes

Committee to vote in their elected Chairman for the Municipal Year.

Councillor Barrie Pierpoint was elected to the position of Chairman.

On being elected and taking control of the meeting, Councillor Pierpoint thanked the committee for their confidence in re electing him to the post of Chairman.

Committee to vote in the Vice Chairman for the Municipal Year.

Councillor Patsie Marson was elected to the position of Vice Chairman and too thanked the committee for their confidence in re electing to the position.

To receive apologies for absence.

Apologies for absence were tabled for Councillors Anne Dorrian, Paul Gleeson and Lina Savickiene.

To receive declarations of interests in respect of any item on the agenda.

No declarations of interest were tabled.

To sign and confirm the minutes of the last meeting.

With the agreement of the committee the Chairman signed the minutes of the previous meeting.

A member asked if the member of the public who attended the previous meeting, had received a response to his questions. The Chairman confirmed that the respective officers responsible for the services areas under question, had contacted the member of the public direct.

A further point of clarification referenced the agreement at the previous meeting for a report on Footway Lighting at this meeting and officers asked why none had been tabled.  The Lead Officer for the committee confirmed that due to a change in officers, the report would be provided at the next scheduled meeting in August 2024.

To report progress on outstanding actions from the minutes of the last meeting, for information only.

No updates were tabled.

To answer any written questions received from members of the public no later than 5 p.m. two clear working days prior to the meeting – for this meeting the deadline is 5 p.m. on ………………..

No public questions were tabled.

To allow members of the public to address the Committee.

No member of the public addressed the meeting.

A point of clarification was provided that public access to the Municipal Buildings or all meetings was from 6.15pm – 6.30pm via the main reception door on West Street. Security officers attended during that time to enable access to the meetings.

(A report by Christine Marshall, Deputy Chief Executive – Corporate Development & S151 Officer)

The portfolio holder presented the report outlined at Appendix 1 are the details of the income and expenditure relating to BTAC for the financial year 2023/24. The outturn position was an overspend of £37,115 which has been offset by a contribution from reserves to ensure a breakeven position.

The opening balance of the BTAC reserve on 1^st April 2023 was £328,136. The closing balance on BTAC’s reserve as at 31^st March 2024 is £118,459.

Details of the use of reserves is outlined in Appendix A but includes expenditure on play equipment of £142k and the contribution from reserves towards the in-year overspend of £37k.

Members were advised that after taking account of the S151 Officer’s recommendation of a minimum reserve of £70,000, the Funds available (not allocated) are £118,459.

Committee deliberation followed which included:

Several members voiced concern at the lack of supporting detail within the report, which if included, would have answered a significant number of the questions they wished to table. The subject areas identified included the substantial overspend on public conveniences and the figure for ‘other projects’ which failed to identify what the specific projects were.  A further request sought a breakdown clarification on the increase in administration charges.

It was agreed that two further reports be tabled at the next scheduled meeting.  The first one being to expand and clarify the position in respect of the overspend on the Public Conveniences.  Despite the Lead Officer for the committee advising that there had been a leakage at the Central Park site and that staffing costs had increased, members wanted the full breakdown, due to the overspend being so large.

The second report to be a more detailed financial statement of the remainder of the statement provided.  That to provide a detailed breakdown of all charges to allow committee full sight of all the spend with a clear identification of all costs combined within any overarching figure as noted in ‘other projects’ category.  Furthermore, footnotes to be included to provide a narrative for members, especially on items with a large variance against budget. 

Additional concern was tabled at the financial position identified, with concerns noted at the spend over the previous years and the need for the second report to be tabled, prior the committee making any commitments for the forthcoming year.  Concern was further tabled at the lack of income for BTAC, with the precept being the primary income stream and member agreed to discuss the subject further within the work programme.

RESOLVED:

That a detailed report on the public conveniences be tabled at the next scheduled meeting, identifying all costs which resulted in the significant overspend.

That a further finance report be provided at the next scheduled meeting, providing a full breakdown on costs, with a supporting narrative to ensure a clear understanding of the financial position of the committee.

(The Committee’s work programme for the current year for discussion and/or updating.)

Addressing three items rolled over from previous meetings the following was agreed:

The first item carried over was that of Footway Lighting.  Committee were advised that a report would be presented at the next scheduled meeting, enabling members to decide if initial costs to allow changes to the current system could result in reduced costs overtime.

The second item carried over was that of the schedule of attendance by the Police at BTAC meetings.  It was agreed that the Police be invited to attend on a bi-annual basis. Members were advised that the detailed annual Crime and CCTV reports would be tabled at the forthcoming Scrutiny meeting and where Police representatives would be in attendance.  As all Councillors would have sight of these reports, should anything specific evolve from that meeting, then BTAC could re-visit if necessary.

The final items carried over was that of the promotion of BTAC within the local community groups and alongside the various charities within the town centre.  The initial suggestion had been to inform the public of the role of BTAC and how it could help them with suggestions including inviting them to a statutory meeting to invite questions. However, it was felt that two individual meetings be scheduled to take the idea forward, with full inclusions the support of officers working with the communities the charities who had definitive lists and valuable knowledge to offer the committee. The Chairman also sought publicity of such events via social media and other streams to promote and explain the remit of the committee. It was agreed further discussions were needed prior to taking this item further. 

The following suggestions / requests for future reporting and BTAC support were tabled:

• Road signage for the town. A member noted that whilst Parish Councils took responsibility for their own signage, BTAC did not, and whilst the member had personally restored damaged signs, which reflected badly on the town, additional help and support was required.  The signs were a valuable asset and those on the arterial roads deteriorated quickly due to the elements.  A maintenance routine was required moving forward to ensure they were fit for purpose.

It was agreed that the subject could be raised with the community groups to seek any voluntary support of the maintenance, and the BTAC operatives were also available to assist with such matters.

• A review be carried out on the protocol required to invoke a Town Council, should the County become unitary in the forthcoming years.  It was advised that a previous reviews had taken place over recent years, but it had been felt that if a Unitary Council be agreed, then by de-fault of that, Boston would become a Town Council.  Whilst members acknowledged the outcome, should a Unitary Council be returned, they felt that BTAC needed to be ready in advance of that occurring, by having all the facts and a protocol in place.  A member noted that the question of why the Council did not have a Town Council, arose  ...  view the full minutes text for item 31.