2022 Budget

South Kyme Parish Council

Budget Report for Financial Year 2022/23

1. Introduction

The funding for the Parish Council is provided through a self-set precept that is collected through a distinct part of the Council Tax that the Precepting Authority, in our case North Kesteven District Council, will levy and collect on our behalf. The precept is paid as either one or two payments during the financial year of April through to March. Currently there is no ceiling on a precept or on the annual increase of a precept.

As Councillors should you be aware that we need to set a precept in the January of each year and this report has been written to explain and help with the process. There has been and will continue to be a significant spend against budget in the current financial year. Councillors need to carefully consider the 2022/23 precept and decide on the levels of reserves. As the precept has to be set by the end of January, the Council must agree it formally at the 27th January meeting.

2. Preparation

The starting point for the budget for next year (2022/23) needs to be the current year financial accounts and the expected outturn as at 31st March 2022 (end of the financial year).

There will be standard budget headings that will move from year to year, such as Insurance, Salary, Subscriptions, etc., where the Council simply needs to take into account the current year spend (as defined in the outturn), what factors are at play in the current year or that are expected next year, and accordingly adjust the budget for the next financial year.

There may be exceptional items in the current year that will not carry over to the next financial year.

There may also be new budget headings that will be set from the intended delivery plan of the Council for the forthcoming year, which may include potential Initiatives but may also include income streams such as Grants.

3. Budget Process

The early draft version of this paper will act as a focus for Councillor debate. It may well be an iterative process, investigating the intended service delivery for the forthcoming financial year, and calculating the expected budget against available reserves. This may result in a proposed Precept value which is too high to merit support by Councillors or residents and would require to adjust the intended delivery downwards until an acceptable budget (and relating Precept) is reached.

The budget was considered at the meeting on 25th November 2021 and finalised at the meeting on 27th January 2022 at which point the precept was set.

It must be noted that this document has been provided by the Clerk as a starting point for Council discussion. The Council must agree,

• the budget headings,
• the value of budget for each of those headings, and
• the level and type of Reserves to pass unspent monies into the following year and reserve money that ‘may’ be spent such as the Elections Reserve which is suggested by the Electoral Authority, in our case North Kesteven District Council.

4. Planning and Consultation

The Parish Council attended a Vision and Planning session on 1st October 2021 and is fielding a questionnaire to Parish residents during October 2021 to gauge the needs of the Parish. This will identify the overall vision for the Council and will be underpinned by proposed Initiatives for the next financial year.

There have also been other issues raised by the public throughout the year that may need addressing as part of the new year budget.

Each Initiative will require a business case to be set before the Council for approval that will include an accurate cost profile. For budgetary purposes there needs to be estimated costs for each Initiative and that is one purpose of this paper.

5. Historical Funding

Year                      opening               exceptional         precept                expenditure

                              Balance                income

2018/19               £4,033                                                £5,275                  £8,376

2019/20               £3,789                                                £5,515                  £7,446

2020/21               £4,477                                                £6,618                  £2,649

2021/22               £9,933                  £1,745                  £6,784                  £15,914

2022/23               £4,763[1]

6. Revenue Items for 2022/23[2]

• Insurance: £220
• Room hire: £350
• Expenses: £400
• Salary: £3,000
• Training: £500
• Subscriptions: £450
• Environment Warden: £2,500[3]
• Broadband: £180
• Legal Fees: £300
• Equipment Maintenance: £520
• Administration: £100
• Audit: £100[4]
• Section 137: £100

Total: £8,220

As part of the budget process the Councillors have already passed comment on the lack of maintaining precept levels in coordination with the continued investment in village activities, services, and robust working processes.

7. Other Possible Income for 2022/23

• Church Maintenance Fee: £450[5]
• LCC Maintenance Fee: £418[6]
• Grants: Unknown

Although Grants are no known at this point in the budget process, there is some indication commitment by the Councillors to investigate sources of grants, especially for larger Initiatives.

8. Non-Revenue Items for 2022/23

Initiatives

It is proposed that given the unknown delivery capability within the financial year, that a guidance figure is accepted for a given set of initiatives, where only a partial delivery is expected. Priorities of given initiatives can then be modified throughout the year.

Proposed initiatives in scope for the year[7]:

• Communication: Quarterly newsletter est. £200 (from Vision session, under LGA 1972 s.142)
• Biodiversity: Re-Wilding – Commence Tree planting and Wildflower Areas est. £250 (from Vision session)
• Community Facility: Trial public facility for refreshments est. £100 (from Vision session, under LGA 1972, s.144)
• Community Facility: Canoe platform est. £400 (from resolved Minute, under LG (Misc Provisions) 1976, s.19)
• Community Facility: Footpath upgrade contribution est. £1,000 (from Vision session, under Public Health Act 1875, s.87) – grants required
• Public Service: Support of Queen’s Jubilee Celebrations est. £500 (from discussion, under LGA 1972, s.145(1)(a))

Total fund proposed[8]: £2,450

Future Reserves Required

• Elections: £2,000 (required by NKDC)
• General: £4,000 (suggested reserve 50% - 150% of precept: £3,390 – £10,170; required by financial prudence guidance)

Total: £6,000

9. Proposed Precept 2022/23

Income                Expenditure

• Opening cash position            £  4,763                                                             (see 5)
• Proposed Precept                   £11,489
• Other Income                           £     418                                                             (see 7)
• Revenue spend                                                       £  8,220                              (see 6)
• Initiatives                                                                 £  2,450                              (see 8)
• Future Reserves                                                     £  6,000                              (see 8)

£16,670                £16,670

The proposed Precept of £11,489 would be an increase of 69% from 2021/22 (£6,784).

In 2019/20 South Kyme had a Precept of £5,515 which placed it 42nd of 64 Parish Councils with a Precept in the District for the equivalent Band D Council Tax value.

The equivalent Band D rate will go from £48.52 (2021/22) to approximately £81.72, an increase of £33.20 per year (about an average of 63p per week per household).

10. Associated Documents

• A budget document identifying expected Reserves and Precept to be approved (Budget Paper 2022-23 – This Paper)
• Current financial accounts with expected outturn for the end of the year (Detailed Finance Forecast 2021-22)
• Associated document(s) explaining proposed Initiatives (Proposed Initiatives 2022-23)
• Other supporting documentation
• Relative Band D for NKDC Parish Councils for financial year 2019-20 (Parish Precept Modelling 2019-20)

11. Financial Statement in Support of Precept for 2022/23

The proposed Precept of £11,489 would be an increase of 69% from 2021/22 (£6,784).

In 2019/20 South Kyme had a Precept of £5,515 which placed it 42nd of 64 Parish Councils with a Precept in the District for the equivalent Band D Council Tax value.

The equivalent Band D rate will go from £48.52 (2021/22) to approximately £81.72, an increase of £33.20 per year (about an average of 63p per week per household).

The level of precept will have the potential to deliver a significant number of the following activities:

• A canoe launch platform for the community and visitors,
• Provide a footpath upgrade either in phases or as a single project (with grant assistance),
• A quarterly newsletter to improve communication across the parish,
• Re-wilding, through providing saplings for tree planting and seed for wildflower areas, to support an increased focus in biodiversity,
• A trial for refreshments being made available to the local community and visitors alike as a community facility in association with the likes of local art exhibitions,
• A significant Environment Warden service,
• Maintaining investment in safer roads through the Community Speed Watch,
• Supporting the Village Tidy Group to keep our Parish looking good while maintaining a balance with biodiversity views,
• Providing some investment in communications facilities in the Coronation Hall to make it more attractive for use and to allow better access to Council meetings,
• Providing an accessible, robust, and regulated Parish Council for the community, and
• Supporting the community through celebrations for the Queen’s Jubilee in 2022.

The Council has a view that the Parish has been significantly under-funded through the Precept for several years. As part of the budget process the Councillors have observed the lack of maintaining precept levels in coordination with the continued investment in village activities, services, and robust working processes.

The Council has recently invested in a quality Clerk and the relevant certification to improve the Council for the future.

The Council has invested time into a robust vision, budget and precept process, involving significant training for the Councillors and close working with the Clerk.

The Council will continue to deliver value for money services to the community and will keep a level of precept commensurate with this quality of service.