Finance Committee, 9 November 2016

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 in the Committee Room at the Reading Room, Church
Street, Helmdon, NN13 5QJ on
Wednesday 9th November, 2016 at 8.00pm
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 11th May, 2016
4. Matters arising
5. Open Forum
6. To consider the preferred 3 options for the Village of the Year prize money
7. To confirm the 2017/18 grass cutting tender
8. To receive an update from the Clerk on the Parish Council’s Workplace Pension responsibilities.
9. To approve the 2015/16 VAT return
10. To review the 2016/17 budget plan
11. Preliminary consideration of the 2017/18 budget
12. 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 of Helmdon Parish Council, held in the
Committee Room at the Reading Room, Church Street, Helmdon on Wednesday 9th
November, 2016.
PRESENT: Cllrs Coatsworth (Chair), Moody, Garner, Thorpe and the Clerk
IN ATTENDANCE: 0 members of the public attended
1. Apologies
Apologies were received and accepted from Cllrs Hart and Vicars
2. Declarations of Interest
None
3. Approval and signature of the minutes from the meeting on 11th May, 2016
The minutes were approved with no amendments and signed by the Chairman.
4. Matters arising
There were no matters arising
5. Open Forum
There were no members of public in attendance
6. To consider the preferred 3 options for the Village of the Year prize money.
The clerk presented a top line summary of costs for the 3 options with the most votes from
Councillors: a flag pole, a new bench and a village sign (see appendix A). After some consideration it was proposed to recommend the purchase of a flag pole and either moving the existing bench on Jenner’s Piece to the side of Wappenham Road where the pavement runs, or purchase a 2nd bench. The suggestion of a village sign was discounted due to costs. It was agreed that both purchases required further investigation before a final decision could be made.
The popular suggestion for dog waste bins was discussed and it was agreed to consider this when planning for the 2017/18 Budget.
Action: The Clerk to provide an example of a flag pole policy. Cllr Moody to advertise for interest in the position of flag warden on www.helmdon.com.
7. To confirm the 2017/18 grass cutting tender
The existing tender document was updated.
The need for a rough cut of the verges was questioned as it is believed that this is a responsibility of NCC. It was agreed to contact NCC to ask for details of their mowing schedule
– if it is twice a year then it was agreed to remove the rough cut from the tender. Action: The
Clerk to contact NCC.
It was agreed that Councillors would show any potential new suppliers around the village if required rather than the Clerk.
Cllr Moody agreed to create a map of the village which indicates the areas in question which would be added to the tender document. Action: Cllr Moody to create the grass cutting map.
The cutting of the access way to the allotment was discussed. It was agreed to include this within the main body of the tender document rather than as a separate quote. Once a final supplier has been agreed, they will be asked to provide the fee for this particular piece of

work, so that the cost can then be included in the April 2017 rental agreements for each plot holder.
It was agreed that once a supplier had been selected they would be instructed formally in writing and a contract of work between both parties would be drawn up.
8. To receive an update from the Clerk on the Parish Council’s Workplace Pension responsibilities
The Clerk confirmed that they had contacted The Pensions Regulator to confirm the Parish
Council’s responsibilities. The Parish Council has a staging date of October 2017 but at present no employee is paid above the minimum threshold that requires a workplace pension to be provided. This situation should be reviewed again in July 2017.
9. To approve the 2015/16 VAT return
The Clerk presented the expenditure that would be submitted for VAT reclaim (see appendix B)
and it was approved by all. Action: The Clerk to submit the 2015/16 VAT return.
10. To review the 2016/17 budget plan
The budget planning process that was used for 2016/17 was reviewed and it was agreed that it had been effective and accurate and should be used again for the 2017/18 budget plan. It was decided to create a separate section of the budget sheet to include all the funds set aside to come from grants. Action: The Clerk to update the budget spreadsheet to keep grant funding separate from actual spend.
11. Preliminary consideration of the 2017/18 budget
The estimated end of year figures were reviewed. It was agreed that the council should make the completion of already planned projects the focus of 2017/18. The Clerk was asked to include consideration of the following costs when drafting the budget: dog waste bins, speed radar, re-treating the noticeboards, water pump at the allotments
The Clerk will contact both the Footpath and Tree Wardens to ask for possible costs from them for next financial year. Action: The Clerk to contact the Footpath and Tree Wardens.
12. Close
There being no further business, the Chairman declared the meeting closed at 9.25pm.
The next meeting of the Finance Committee will be at 8pm Monday 16th January, 2017
Signed__________________
Cllr John Coatsworth, Chairman
Date_________

Appendix A – Village of the Year prize money costings
Supplier
Flag Poles www.flagsandflagpoles.co.uk
Costs
£140 exc VAT for 6m aluminium pole, inside ropes, no installation flags £30
www.flagpoles.co.uk (Harrison EDS) £265 exc VAT for 6m heavy duty pole, inside ropes
£327 exc installation into earth/clay
Bench
Sign www.broxap.com teak: £300-500 exc vat wood/iron: £600 exc vat www.gardenbenches.co.uk teak: £300-500 exc vat www.villagesignpeople.co.uk £1,900 – £3,900 exc vat
Three further suggestions were made after voting:
Tidy up the village entrances e.g fix the Wappenham Road sign
Extend the railings outside The Old School house further along towards Church Street
Put up a plaque or notice celebrating the old yew tree in the Churchyard
Considerations ropes inside or outside the flagpole installation into hard or soft ground type of pole: alluminium, plastic, wooden installation costs height wooden or wooden/cast iron installation engraved plaque?
classic or modern type: cast aluminum, hand carved, pierced metal, plastic installation design

Appendix B – proposed VAT calculations for 2015/16
Invoice and VAT charges for 2015/16
Section 33 of Value Added Tax act 1994:
A Parish Council can only claim back VAT if they have a) placed the order b) received the supply and c) paid the invoice from their own funds.
All invoices must be made out to the Parish Council.
total cost exc VAT VAT charges VAT reclaim
07-Dec-15 1430231 26-Sep-15 BACS BDO LLP External Audit 120.00 100.00 20.00 20.00
27-Jul-15 3844 30-Apr-15 BACS Brown and Barden Grass Cutting 234.85 195.71 39.14 39.14
27-Jul-15 3858 11-Jun-15 BACS Brown and Barden Grass Cutting 234.85 195.71 39.14 39.14
27-Jul-15 3870 26-Jun-15 BACS Brown and Barden Grass Cutting 234.85 195.71 39.14 39.14
27-Jul-15 3886 30-Jul-15 BACS Brown and Barden Grass Cutting 234.85 195.71 39.14 39.14
12-Oct-15 3904 21-8-115 300053 Brown and Barden Grass Cutting 234.85 195.71 39.14 39.14
07-Dec-15 3924 29-Sep-15 BACS Brown and Barden Grass Cutting 234.85 195.71 39.14 39.14
07-Dec-15 3943 24-Oct-15 BACS Brown and Barden Grass Cutting 234.85 195.71 39.14 39.14
27-Jul-15 H1146D590C 01-Apr-15 BACS E.On Electricity 156.81 149.34 7.47 7.47
27-Jul-15 H11AD697EE 09-Jul-15 BACS E.On Electricity 478.22 398.52 79.70 79.70
29-Jan-16 H1263E544A 01-Jan-16 BACS E.On Electricity 216.39 206.14 10.25 10.25
07-Dec-15 059528 09-Oct-15 BACS E.On Electricity Repairs 56.33 46.94 9.39 0.00
08-Oct-15 049914 24-Sept 14 BACS E.On Lighting M aintenance 124.93 104.11 20.82 20.82
08-Oct-15 054273 25-M ar-15 BACS E.On Lighting M aintenance 124.93 104.11 20.82 20.82
08-Oct-15 056162 09-Jun-15 BACS E.On Lighting M aintenance 124.93 104.11 20.82 20.82
08-Oct-15 058621 11-Sep-15 BACS E.On Lighting M aintenance 124.93 104.11 20.82 20.82
29-Jan-16 061029 03-Dec-15 BACS E.On Lighting M aintenance 124.93 104.11 20.82 20.82
29-M ar-16 063620 19-M ar-16 BACS E.On Lighting M aintenance 124.93 104.11 20.82 20.82
07-Dec-15 24-Nov-15 BACS H du Bois Office expenses 40.74 37.79 2.95 0.00
29-M ar-16 16-M ar-16 BACS H du Bois Office Expenses 55.99 54.36 1.63 0.00
General M aintenance (Bark) 456.00 380.00 76.00 76.00 07-Oct-15 07888 27-Jul-15 300052 Linnell Bros
08-Oct-15 POL-2015-02101 31-Aug-15 BACS Parish Online M apping Subs 33.60 28.00 5.60 5.60
27-Jul-15 BACS Playsafety Ltd Playground Inspection 78.00 65.00 13.00 13.00
Bulbs 62.48 52.07 7.41 0.00
£3,512.79 £632.30 £610.92
12-Oct-15
017557 01-Jul-15
22-Sep-15 300056 S Lidgley
Totals £4,148.09
charged at 20%
missing invoice till receipt