Agenda item

Charter Trustees considered a report of the Treasurer that provided information to enable Charter Trustees to determine the appropriate budget requirement for the Charter Trust for 2020/21 and the basic level of council tax required for 2020/2021 (for copy see file of minutes).

The Treasurer reported that the level of council tax has been set at £1.90 since 2014/15 and Charter Trustees agreed in 2017 to maintain that level until 2021/22. He advised that the council tax base for 2020/21 would increase from £25,890.60 for 2019/20 to £26,073.10 for 2020/21. Consequently the council tax receivable would increase from £49,192.14 to £49,538.89 at the current Band D Council Tax rate of £1.90.

The Local Council Tax Support Scheme Grant for 2020/21 had increased by £554 from £6,121 to £6,675. In order to maintain the precept at £1.90, a transfer of £13,890 from reserves would be required, with the total level of reserves estimated to reduce to £43,233 as at

31 March 2021.

Councillor Hopgood queried the general office expenses at Appendix B of the report as the forecast of outturn was almost double what had been budgeted for. The Treasurer explained that this was due to an extra one-off expense in 2019/20 which would not occur in 2020/21.

Resolved:

That the council tax requirement of £49,539 and a £1.90 precept for 2020/21 be approved.