Finance Committee, 24 November 2015

HELMDON PARISH COUNCIL
FINANCE COMMITTEE MEETING
Members of the Finance Committee of Helmdon Parish Council are summoned to attend a meeting of the committee to be held straight after the Planning meeting, in the Committee
Room, Reading Room, Church Street, Helmdon, NN13 5QJ on Tuesday 24th November
2015 at 8.15pm
Members of the public and press are welcome to attend this meeting. This meeting may be recorded, filmed or broadcast without prior notice to the Parish Council, provided that such activity does not impede the conduct or business of the meeting.
AGENDA
1. Apologies
2. Declarations of Interest
3. Approval and signature of the minutes of the meeting of 22nd September 2015
4. Matters arising
5. Open Forum
6. To review the electricity usage and supplier agreement
7. To receive a financial update from the Clerk:
a. Financial statement b. Payments received c. Invoices to be paid
8. Preliminary consideration of 2016 budget
9. To consider draft Terms of Reference for the Finance committee
10. Report of meeting between Simon Loake and Cllr Coatsworth:
a. Allotment rental records b. Employment status for tax purposes
11. To consider implication of new pension regulations
12. To consider the possibility of funding towards flood prevention works in Grange Lane
13. Close
Signed_________________ Dated______________
Helen du Bois
Clerk to Helmdon Parish Council
[address removed] tel: [phone number removed]

HELMDON PARISH COUNCIL
MINUTES
of the meeting of the Finance Committee held in the Reading Room,
Church Street, Helmdon at 8.15pm on Tuesday 24th November, 2015.
PRESENT: Cllrs Coatsworth (Chair), Moody, Hart and the Clerk.
IN ATTENDANCE: 0 members of the public attended.
1. Apologies
Apologies were received from Cllr Garner (holiday) and Cllr Vicars (prior engagement)
2. Declarations of Interest
There were no declarations of interest
3. Approval and signature of the minutes from the meeting on 22nd September, 2015
The minutes were approved and signed by the Chairman.
4. Matters arising
9. BDO has confirmed that the slide steps should be added to the asset register as they are of high value and assumed to last for more than one year. There were discussions regarding the value of the two telegraph poles to be added and it was agreed to value them at £10 each. Action: the Clerk to add both the slide steps and the telegraph poles to the asset register.
13. The Clerk confirmed that the 2016 Grass Cutting Tender had been sent out and that replies were expected in time for the Main Council meeting in January 2016.
Action: The Clerk to send a copy to Cllr Hart for information
5. Open Forum
There were no members of public in attendance
6. To review the electricity usage and supplier agreement
Cllr Moody explained that E.On had recently increased their prices and that NCALC are advising
Parish Councils to compare their new prices with other suppliers. He also explained that other
Councils have changed their existing sodium lighting with LED lights and were seeing a significant drop in electricity costs. It was resolved that Helmdon should take this opportunity to review their supply and investigate the cost effectiveness of changing the lamps.
Action: the Clerk to provide the committee with a report reviewing suppliers and lamps
7. To receive a financial update from the Clerk.
The clerk presented the 2015-2016 daybook which had been updated to include the 2014-
2015 records.
In summary:
• Account balance £18,561.48
• Payments received since 23/9/15: £30,669.84
• Invoices to be settled this period £1998.86
The Committee noted their thanks to the Clerk for the work involved in bringing the financial records up to date.
The sinking fund document was reviewed. It has not been updated for 2015-16 so it was resolved that Cllr Hart and the Clerk will update the document in time for budget planning in the New Year. Cllr Moody volunteered to provide guidance documentation for Sinking Funds.

Action: Cllr Moody to provide Sinking Fund documentation, Cllr Hart and Clerk to update the Sinking Fund file.
8. Preliminary Consideration of the 2016 Budget
The different sections of the budget were reviewed. It was agreed that section 500 should be renamed to Grants, with 501 renamed to Grants to Village Organisation, and 503 to be renamed S.137. It was also agreed that a “General Contingency” line should be added when the budget is finalised in January.
It was suggested that the Allotments Committee and the Playground Committee should provide input into the Budget discussion in January, with a view of their projected future spend in 2016 and beyond.
Action: the Clerk to update the 2015-2016 daybook with the agreed changes.
9. To consider the draft Terms of Reference for the Finance Committee
The draft document was reviewed and changes suggested. The Committee noted their thanks to the Clerk for the work involved in producing the document.
Action: the Clerk to make amendments and present a final copy in the next Finance meeting
10. Report of meeting between Simon Loake and Cllr Coatsworth a. Allotment rental records: It was confirmed that Mr Loake had two rental payments in his possession, a cheque from Cllr Wheeler and a £10 note. It is not clear whether or not plot holders had been invoiced for 2015/2016. The Finance Committee considered the cost of investigating the 2015/2016 payments (thought to be in the region of £100)
and felt it to be uneconomic. Therefore it was decided to allow a payment holiday rather than reissue invoices. The invoices for 2016/2017 will be sent out in April 2016.
Action: recommendation that rental payments for 2015/16 should be written off.
b. Employment status for tax purposes: It was confirmed that Mr Loake had registered as self-employed during his time as Clerk for Helmdon Parish Council. After some discussion, it was agreed that there was no remedial action to be taken.
11. To consider the implication of new pension regulations
The clerk explained that as Helmdon PC had recently been given a new PAYE employer number, the council’s details were not yet available on the Pensions Regulator website and so we do not yet have a Staging Date. It was resolved that there was no further action required at this stage.
12. To consider the possibility of funding towards flood prevention works in Grange
Land
There was a general discussion about the possibility of completing the flood prevention works at Grange Lane.
13. Close
There being no further business, the Chairman declared the meeting closed at 9:58pm.
Signed__________________
Cllr John Coatsworth, Chairman
Date_________