Wednesday December 12th 2011 starting at 8.00pm at the Town Council offices
in the Victoria Hall.
The meeting will primarily be concerned with the Council's budget for 2012 - 2013.
It has already been agreed that there will be no increase in the amount residents in Oakham pay to Oakham Town Council for the services it provides.
Oakham Town Council
Victoria Hall, 39 High Street, Oakham, Rutland, LE15 6AH
Telephone: 01572 723627 Fax: 01572 759395
e-mail: enquiries@oakhamtowncouncil.gov.uk
A MEETING OF
OAKHAM TOWN COUNCIL
WEDNESDAY 7TH DECEMBER 2011 AT 8.00PM
AT THE OFFICES OF OAKHAM TOWN COUNCIL,
VICTORIA HALL, 39 HIGH STREET, OAKHAM
AGENDA
1. APOLOGIES - Standing Order 1(u)
(i) To receive apologies for absence
(ii) To decide whether to approve absences
2. DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST
Members are asked to declare any interest they may have in respect to items on the
agenda
3. MINUTES (Appendix A)
To confirm the minutes of the meeting of Oakham Town Council held on
Wednesday 9th November 2011
4. COUNCILLOR’S QUESTIONS
To answer questions previously notified to the Clerk under Standing Order 8
(Members note that 72 hours notice is now required)
5. DEPUTATIONS BY THE PUBLIC
Members of the Public are invited to address the meeting in accordance with
procedures laid down in Standing Orders 1(d) – 1(i)
6. INVESTMENT STRATEGY (Appendix B)
To discuss the issue and to make appropriate decisions relating to future investments
made by the Council
(Click on Images to enlarge) I was asked why the council does not publish Appendixes? The answer it creates too much for for the Clerk, the council is happy to provide me with copies which I can scan and upload. if you click on the image and then click again you should see the full size image.
7. BUDGET 2012 – 2013 (Appendices C, C(i), C(ii) and C(iii)))
To further discuss the issue and to make appropriate decisions.
Specifically:
(i) Whether to resolve “in principle” to borrow a sum of money from the Public
Works Loan Board in 2012 – 2013
(ii) To agree on the sum of money to be borrowed
(iii) To agree on any other issues relating to the 2012 – 2013 budget
Richard White
Clerk to the Council
1st December 2011
It is important to note its is now recognised by the Town Council a lack of a strategic plan hinders the preparation of the budget.
Cllr Dewis with his working group are currently working hard on a strategic plan so in the meantime the Clerk has to base the budget on previous spending and figure drawn from the sky...
Its good to see the council now recognises it has a plan. past minutes will show Cllr Spencer read answers to my questions on this subject over a year ago. The response she was forced to read out was the council does not need a strategic plan.
Also this month I requested a copy of the Council telephone bill I was shocked to see how much time the office spends on the phone over a month. I was only provided with page 5 from 6 of an itemised bill for the purpose of my request. this page shows just over 100 calls. Many of the calls made are personal the Clerks own admission he had called his mother for a chat (of course paid for by the tax payer) I don't know his mothers number. I Googled some of the numbers my findings included NEXT home shopping and a Corby Car Dealership that is two of the many of the personal calls made. There are two people paid to work in the office if less time was spent on the phone then maybe one of those staff could find the times to upload the appendixes like most other councils.
As the council looks to save costs for next years budget, maybe it should look at its telephone provider the call charges incurred seem rather high for today's competitive market. If the tax payer is to continue to pay for the staffs personal calls surely a modern day package would be best one that includes mobile phone call deals may help. Of course if the calls are free the tax payer is still paying for their time.
