Issue - meetings

To receive the report of the Cabinet Member for Finance and Assets

            RESOLVED

(i)         That the transfer of £500,000 from the General Fund reserve to an earmarked transformation reserve be approved.

(ii)        That the Chief Executive, in consultation with the Leader, be authorised to use the transformation fund as appropriate.

REASON

To top up the earmarked transformation reserve for projects that will help transform the Council in the future; being effectively funded from the 2016/17 budget surplus.

The Cabinet Member for Finance and Assets reported that the Council had delivered a £776,000 revenue surplus in 2016/17, after allowing for budgets that would be carried over to 2017/18 to cover essential expenditure which had been unavoidably delayed.

A balanced budget was currently forecast from 2017/18 through to 2019/20 but this relied on the implementation of a range of actions to help deliver further income generation and efficiency measures, which would require further investment in transformational projects.

It was therefore proposed that £500,000 should be transferred from the General Fund reserve to the earmarked transformation reserve to assist with the implementation of such measures in the future.  Effectively, this would be funded from the 2016/17 budget surplus.

The Finance and Assets Policy Development Advisory Group had been consulted and supported the proposal.

            RESOLVED

(i)         That the transfer of £500,000 from the General Fund reserve to an earmarked transformation reserve be approved.

(ii)        That the Chief Executive, in consultation with the Leader, be authorised to use the transformation fund as appropriate.

REASON

To top up the earmarked transformation reserve for projects that will help transform the Council in the future; being effectively funded from the 2016/17 budget surplus.