Statement of Accounts item 15 will be considered and approved at Wednesdays Town Council meeting
At the last meeting Cllr Guthrie was kind to the Clerk, he said the last statement of accounts were difficult to comprehend, he has Dr before his name so his vocabulary is greater than mine. In the past I have used a word also starting with c and this has offended the Clerk...(crap)
I am not sure how councillors can approve the statement of accounts.
One of the first issues I noticed, it now appears the council holds no general reserves.
I raised this issue with the Clerk and another regarding the huge overspend of public money, so the council can let the fitness centre in Princess Avenue Oakham to its preferred commercial tenant.
Cllr Adam Lowe Deputy Mayor, said he and others were shocked and surprised by the cost of the refurbishment.
I can not understand their shock, surely the councillors did not approve the £42,000 expenditure without any knowledge of the contract value?
Once all the other costs have been accounted for the Town Council will have a overspend of around £16,000+
I have asked the Clerk where the money for this overspend is coming from. He has responded from the councils reserves.
I question the legality of this, because councillors have not approved expenditure from its reserves.
I have also asked the council, is it legal for them to spend so much of tax payers money to entice a new tenant who are expected to pay the lower end of a commercial valuation for rent. It will take over six years for the council to recoup its costs and start making money from the public asset, that can not be right.
They have not responded to my question.
They have also failed to respond to my question why the property has not been placed on the open market in accordance to their legally binding resolution made at a previous council meeting.
Apparently the council does still have reserves. the Clerk explains why it is not shown on the statement of accounts in a email received:
From: rwhite@oakhamtowncouncil.gov.uk
To: martinjbrookes@hotmail.com
Subject: Re:
Date: Tue, 10 Jul 2012 10:04:03 +0100
Dear Martin
The £50000 does exaggerate the possible expenditure of the
Council in 2012 - 2013 at the current point in time. However, it is in the
Statement of Accounts on the assumption that the Council will get approval for
the loan for the works at the Toddlers' Play Area.
The actual quote for the work
from Wicksteed Leisure is slightly less than that so it will be amended if the
loan is approved since the Council may not need the full £50000.Once the
loan is received then this will be entered as a receipt under the appropriate
heading. Once the work is completed and paid for then the two entries will
balance each other out.
I have not put anything in the General Reserves this month
(which are actually £42762) as, again, it exaggerates the total expenditure of
the Council during 2012 - 2013. However, since the overspend on the
refurbishment work at the Fitness Centre will be coming out of the General
Reserves this will be on the next Statement of Accounts in August
I hope that answers your questions.
Richard
