Agenda item

Ward Budgets

Cllr Brooks informed the meeting that the new council administration following the recent election had devolved budgets back to Ward Committees.  The process would involve agreeing priorities and forming a Ward Team comprising of the elected councillors for the Ward and a representative from each of the Parish Councils.  The Ward Committee would receive applications for grants and judge them against the priorities and awards would be made as appropriate.  It was noted that the elected councillors would forward decisions to CYC for action and in exceptional cases the Director could overrule decisions.  Cllr Brooks requested that residents forward suggestions for ward priorities which would be agreed by the Ward Team prior to reviewing applications.  Applications would be received by Helen Jarvis-Ong (Community Involvement Officer).

Cllr Brooks provided the following information on the budgets available;

a.    General Ward Fund (£5451)

Split:

Osbaldwick £2198

Murton        £506

Holtby         £126

Kexby         £175

Dunnington £2146

Applications must be specific to the Ward and associated with a key priority.  There must be a tangible benefit to the local community and have a named sponsor to administer the award.  CYC could be asked to carry out the work however it would be paid for through the Ward budget.

b.   Devolved Grounds Maintenance Fund (£9211.87)

It was noted that this budget would be reduced to £6705.87 in 2016 and £5088.87 in 2017.  This should be used for specific projects to do with open spaces, grass cutting, flower beds; it is an additional budget to the one ring fenced by CYC for playing fields and grass cutting.  It was noted that the Ward would decide where reductions would be made in future years to achieve the budgets for 2016 and 2017.

c.    Pride of York Fund (£3634)/ One Off Grant (£3357)

Split:                      One off element

Osbaldwick £2931 (£1350)

Murton        £675   (£300)

Holtby         £168   (£77)

Kexby         £233   (£108)

Dunnington £3262 (£1500)

Priorities for applications should be centred around local environmental issues, the one off grant in 2016 would favour applications for initiatives which would reduce reliance on council services for example purchase of equipment to make the Ward more self reliant hence increasing the chances of achieving budget cuts without reducing services.

d.   Community Care Fund (£2725)

Split:

Osbaldwick £1099

Murton        £253

Holtby         £63

Kexby         £87

Dunnington £1223

This fund would support applications from community projects which would potentially delay people accessing social care.  Projects around reducing social isolation, prevention of falls, nutrition, transport and supporting carers were highlighted as possible areas.

Would the recent announcement regarding devolution potentially increase the budgets?

Cllrs had been informed of the budgets for the next 2 years and there were no plans for these to change.

How will the responsibilities which come under the Parish Council be raised with CYC?

Concerns or issues would be raised via the local councillors.

Who organises and applies for the grants?

Possibly community groups.

It was commented that the process was very confusing.  Cllr Brooks explained that the Ward Team would gather ideas on projects and invite experts to comment when appropriate.

 Ward Highway Programme (£9085)

Cllr Brooks explained this was a new fund would be available over a 4 year period.  It would be used to carry out maintenance on highways, public footpaths and lighting, this would be for maintenance not currently being carried out by CYC.  Any funds not used could be carried forward.

Have CYC implemented the use of LED lighting to reduce costs in the Ward?

There was currently some LED lighting in the Ward.

Are all the funds allowed to carry amounts forward or just highways?

This year all the funds are allowed carry forward amounts.

Do we know what work will not be covered by CYC?

A spreadsheet detailing CYC commitments would be shared with the Ward Team.  The spreadsheet shows what will continue and what will be sacrificed.

It was noted that Parish Council would need early warning on areas which affect their work.

The Parish Council asked how consistency of appearance of the village would be achieved and would the Parish Council be involved in decisions?

Applications would go through the Ward Committee which would comprise of representatives from each of the Parish Councils.

Would all applications go through the Ward Committee?

Non contentious applications which require a quick decision would not necessarily require approval by the Ward Team this would depend on timescales.

Would the Parish Council be consulted?

Yes via the Ward Team, very contentious issues would require consultation via the Parish Council and wider community.  Parish Council and Residents would be consulted as much as possible.

Who makes the decisions?

The Councillors and Parish Council will review applications as part of the Ward Team; recommendations would then be agreed by the Ward Committee and the Director, who could in exceptional circumstances overrule the decision.

Will all applications be seen by the Ward Team?

Hopefully, only very small amounts of funding may not be seen due to timelines.

The funds are divided into parishes some amounts are very small?

The funds are divided per capita and therefore some amounts are small, there will be some negotiation and applications will be judged on merit against ward priorities.

Budget cuts may result in volunteers being asked to do work previously done by CYC, where would these volunteers be found?

The task would not be easy however the Ward must try to achieve objectives, budgets previously agreed had been cut; it may not necessarily be reliant entirely on volunteers but making savings in all areas though smart decisions and agreements on which jobs are essential.

Will CYC be contracted to carry out work?

CYC can be expensive so procurement exercises would be carried out to get best value, the Ward could choose its own contractors to do the work.

Are the bins which were previously taken away available for use?

It is not a matter of bringing back bins, there are other associated costs such as manpower for emptying them hence the reason they were removed.

How are Ward priorities to be set?

Mary Bailey (CYC) informed the meeting that information would be presented at meetings such as Ward Committee meetings and suggestions requested, forms were available.  Other information from census, previous Ward projects, complaints and departments such as social care, environment and education would be used to set the priorities.

How would the information be publicised?

The information would be shared at Resident Association and Ward Committee meetings and online via the minutes of the meetings.  Hard copies would also be available in libraries if needed.

The Parish Council would like to know about the process, how would the information be shared?

Information had been shared at partnership meetings and on the council website.

It was agreed updates would be sent to Parish Councils.  It is intended that the Parish Council and other groups would be involved as appropriate.

Parish Council had struggled to find information prior to the meeting how had it been publicised?

It had been advertised in a CYC publication although it was acknowledged some residents had received the wrong publication.  Mary Bailey agreed to follow this up to find out why and prepare a briefing for the parish newsletter.

The total budgets were approximately £20000, was it economically valid to roll out a new process which must be costing a lot of money to implement?

It was acknowledged it would be difficult.

How would decisions be publicised?

Decisions would be shared through CYC and logged on the website.