HARWICH TOWN COUNCIL
Guildhall, Church Street, Harwich, Essex CO12 3DS
Tel: 01255 507211
email: info@harwichtowncouncil.co.uk
A meeting of the
FINANCE & GENERAL PURPOSES COMMITTEE
to be held at
The Guildhall, Church Street, Harwich CO12 3DS
On
Tuesday 10th December 2024 at 7pm
Public Question Time:
15 minutes will be available for members of the Public to ask questions in relation to items on the agenda only.
AGENDA
| 1 | Apologies for absence To receive apologies for absence |
| 2 | Declarations of members’ interests To receive any ‘pecuniary’ or ‘Other Registrable’ interests relating to items on the agenda |
| 3 | Minutes of last meeting – To approve as a correct record the Minutes and Confidential Minutes of the meeting of the Finance & General Purposes Committee held on Tuesday 24th September 2024 (circulated separately) |
| 4 | Matters arising from the minutes
• MIN F43/24 – To give update on replacement Guildhall cleaner. • MIN F47/24 – To give update on CCTV at skatepark project. |
| 5 | Matters arising from previous minutes
• MIN F015/24 – To confirm Mental Health Workplace First Responder training has been completed for the Clerk and Asst. Clerk. The Managing Difficult People and Conversations training is yet to be secured. |
| 6 | Grant requests To consider requests for grant funding as listed in the attached schedule. |
| 7 | Estates Supervisor Report To give a report on the progress of current works since the last meeting. |
| 8 | Independent Review of the Accounts
To report findings following an independent review of the accounts and bank reconciliation for the periods Jul-Sep. |
| 9 | Christmas 2024 Guildhall Closure To agree dates for closure of the Guildhall and Council offices over the Christmas period. |
| 10 | SLCC membership
To consider renewal of Clerk’s membership for 2025 at a cost of £300 to be expended from the Subscriptions budget. |
| 11 | Data Audit and Data Protection Policy
• To consider the data audit for Harwich Town Council. • Data Protection Policy for review and adoption. |
| 12 | Leisure Season 2025
• To consider opening dates/times for 2025 season. • To agree to proceed with recruitment of Seasonal Leisure Attendants for the 2025 season and set an hourly rate. • To consider necessary repairs/purchases as per attached schedule. |
| 13 | Hill School Restoration Project
To report on progress to carry out recommended works following receipt of a condition report in early 2017. |
| 14 | Health & Safety and Fire Safety
• To review the following policies/Risk Assessment and adopt with amendments as necessary: Health & Safety Policy Fire Safety Policy • Health & Safety Risk Assessment (Guildhall) |
| 15 | Wellbeing Policy
To adopt policy for Harwich Town Council. |
| 16 | CCTV Maintenance at the Hill School Site
Ref: MIN F57/21 – To review service and consider extending agreement for CCTV maintenance services for a period of 3 years commencing in April 2025 at a cost of £292.50 per annum, to be expended from the Hill School Repairs & Maintenance budget. |
| 17 | IT
• To review service provision and consider renewal of IT support services with current provider on an ongoing basis, commencing 2025/26 on an adhoc basis chargeable at £22 per hour or £160 per day. • To consider moving over to a gov.uk domain with the following costs: 1. Registration of the domain name £10 per annum 2. Ruby Hosting Package £110 per annum 3. Work by IT consultant to move over emails, estimated at 3 hrs @ £22 p/hr 4. Work by Web editor to move website and associated work, estimated at £50 • To consider options for acquiring WiFi extender in the Chamber. 1. Purchase temporary second-hand extender at a cost of £60 2. Purchase new extender at a cost in the region of £300 |
| 18 | Accounts Maintenance and Support
• To consider continuation of maintenance support agreement for RBS accounts in 2025-26 at a cost of £589 for up to 5 users. To be expended from the Website/Accounts budget. • To consider options for year-end close down support |
| 19 | Financial Regulations
Ref: MIN F038/24 – To consider adopting new model Financial Regulations as reviewed by the working party on 11th October 2024. |
| 20 | Mobile Phone
To be approve renewal of contract for mobile phone at a monthly cost starting at £11.20p/m (to be increased annually each April) on a 2/3 year-contract to include a new handset, unlimited calls/text and 10GB of data. |
| 21 | Illumination of the High Lighthouse
Ref: MIN 82/24 – To agree to proceed with project to illuminate the High Lighthouse and expend up to £3760 from the High Lighthouse Illumination EMR to cover costs for materials/equipment identified in the survey. Garry Calver |
| 22 | Budget/Precept 2025/26
• To consider and recommend to Full Council, the budget and precept for the financial year 2025/2026 • To agree to the following mid-year virements: Credit: £6k Hill School Maintenance EMR; £6k Skatepark Festival EMR; £6k Building Maintenance EMR and £6k Community Projects EMR |
| 23 | Matters to be reported
• The NJC has/ reached agreement on the 2024-25 pay awards to apply a flat rate payment of £1290 on each scale point and this is implemented with immediate effect for all applicable employees, along with the necessary back pay. No agreement has been made on the 2025-26 pay awards. • To note £100 callout charge for fire alarm fault, to be expended from the Fire & Safety budget. • To note expenditure of £15.82, authorised by delegated authority, for the purchase of a new light sensor for the lobby, plus £42 for fitting, to be expended from the Consumables & Maintenance budget. • Interest rate on the Business Premium Account (Barclays) is reducing by 0.10% to 1.40% from 19th December 2024 and the interest rate on the Income Bonds (NS&I) has reduced to 3.69% from 20th November 2024. |
| 24 | Matters received in the post or information raised by members Letters of thanks for grants received from: Harwich Quay Fireworks, Harwich & Dovercourt Partnership and Electric Palace TrustEvaluation form following grant received from: |
| 25 | Date for next meeting The date of the next meeting of the Finance and General Purposes Committee is scheduled for 7pm, on Tuesday 18th March 2025. |
| 26 | Exclusion of public and press Pursuant to Sub-Section 2 of Section 1 of the Public Bodies (Admission to Meetings) Act 1960 the meeting is closed to the press and public for the transaction of the under-mentioned business:
|
| 27 | Salary Reviews
• To conduct a review of staff salaries |
Dated: 4th December 2024
Ms Lucy Ballard
Clerk to the Council
APPLICATIONS FOR GRANT FUNDING
FINANCE & GENERAL PURPOSES MEETING 10th DECEMBER 2024
Applicant Name:Spring Meadow Primary School
Contact: (Music and Performing Arts teacher) |
Purpose of Grant: To contribute towards the cost of putting on a production of ‘Annie’ for the community.Benefits: Inclusivity and accessible to all ages and members of the community. Open to all. Develops teamwork, communication, time management and creativity.
|
Total cost of project: £1345 Grant Requested: £819Funds from other sources: £526 – Own resources |
Applicant Name:Parish of the Harwich Peninsular Contact: (Churchwarden) |
Purpose of Grant: For the provision of hives, bees, beekeeping suits and equipment and educational materials.Benefits: Local schools will be invited to learn about bees and their importance to the environment and will have the opportunity to understand and experience beekeeping skills.
|
Total cost of project: £3000 Grant Requested: £1000Funds from other sources: £1000 – own resources £1000 – Rotary |
Schedule of Repair Costs for the Putting GreenPresented to F&GP Committee on 10th December 2024 |
|
|
ITEM |
COST |
| • Pétanque terrain – new wood frame/edging and stakes |
£500 |
|
• New clock |
£70 |
| • Putting Green Hut – new wood for repairs to shutters and paint |
£27 and £67 |
| • New ‘Open’ flag |
£20 |