ORANGE CITY COUNCIL
Finance Policy Committee
Agenda
6 December 2016
Notice is hereby given, in accordance with the provisions of the Local Government Act 1993 that a Finance Policy Committee meeting of ORANGE CITY COUNCIL will be held in the Council Chamber, Civic Centre, Byng Street, Orange on Tuesday, 6 December 2016.
Garry Styles
General Manager
For apologies please contact Michelle Catlin on 6393 8246.
Finance Policy Committee 6 December 2016
2.1 Statement of Bank Balances as at 31 October 2016.
2.2 Request for Financial Assistance
Finance Policy Committee 6 December 2016
The provisions of Chapter 14 of the Local Government Act, 1993 (the Act) regulate the way in which Councillors and designated staff of Council conduct themselves to ensure that there is no conflict between their private interests and their public role.
The Act prescribes that where a member of Council (or a Committee of Council) has a direct or indirect financial (pecuniary) interest in a matter to be considered at a meeting of the Council (or Committee), that interest must be disclosed as soon as practicable after the start of the meeting and the reasons given for declaring such interest.
As members are aware, the provisions of the Local Government Act restrict any member who has declared a pecuniary interest in any matter from participating in the discussion or voting on that matter, and requires that member to vacate the Chamber.
Council’s Code of Conduct provides that if members have a non-pecuniary conflict of interest, the nature of the conflict must be disclosed. The Code of Conduct also provides for a number of ways in which a member may manage non pecuniary conflicts of interest.
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Recommendation It is recommended that Committee Members now disclose any conflicts of interest in matters under consideration by the Finance Policy Committee at this meeting. |
TRIM REFERENCE: 2016/2717
AUTHOR: Kim Thompson, Accounting Officer - Management
EXECUTIVE Summary
Council operates one Bank Account and is required to carry out a Bank Reconciliation at the end of each month. As at 31 October 2016 the Cash Book Balance was $481,640.25.
Link To Delivery/OPerational Plan
The recommendation in this report relates to the Delivery/Operational Plan strategy “1.2 Our City - Information and advice provided for the decision-making process will be succinct, reasoned, accurate, timely and balanced”.
Financial Implications
Council has been advised that as a council included in the NSW Government’s merger proposals under consideration by the Office of Local Government since referral on 6 January 2016, Council must comply with the merger proposal period guidelines issued under S23A of the Local Government Act 1993.
The guidelines instruct Council it should expend money in accordance with the detailed budget adopted for the purposes of implementing the Delivery/Operational Plan for the 2015/16 year.
Any expenditure outside the adopted budget requires the identification of clear and compelling grounds and must be approved by Council at a meeting that is open to the public. The guidelines indicate the resolution of Council for increased expenditure must specify the reasons why the expenditure is required and warranted.
If increased expenditure is greater than $250,000 or 1% of the Council’s revenue from rates in the preceding year, whichever is the greater, Council is required to exhibit the increase to the budget and consider comments received.
Council must also avoid entering into contracts or undertakings where expenditure or revenue is greater than $250,000 or 1% of the Council’s revenue from rates in the preceding year, whichever is the greater, unless the contract or undertaking is as a result of a decision or procurement process commenced prior to the merger proposal period or where entering into a contract or undertaking is reasonably necessary for the purposes of meeting the ongoing service delivery commitments of the Council or was previously approved in the Council’s Delivery/Operational Plan.
Policy and Governance Implications
Nil.
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That the information provided in the report by the Accounting Officer – Management on the Statement of Bank Balances as at 31 October 2016 be acknowledged. |
further considerations
Consideration has been given to the recommendation’s impact on Council’s service delivery; image and reputation; political; environmental; health and safety; employees; stakeholders and project management; and no further implications or risks have been identified.
1 Bank Reconciliation as at 31 October 2016, D16/54596⇩
Finance Policy Committee 6 December 2016
2.1 Statement of Bank Balances as at 31 October 2016
Attachment 1 Bank Reconciliation as at 31 October 2016
TRIM REFERENCE: 2016/2826
AUTHOR: Josie Sanders, Management Accountant
EXECUTIVE Summary
Council is in receipt of requests for financial assistance under section 356 of the Local Government Act 1993. The report provides details of applications received.
Link To Delivery/OPerational Plan
The recommendation in this report relates to the Delivery/Operational Plan strategy “3.3 Our City – Recognise that members of the community will take different leadership pathways, the Council will support this growth and development through appropriate activities, initiatives and assistance”.
Financial Implications
Council has been advised that as a council included in the NSW Government’s merger proposals under consideration by the Office of Local Government since referral on 6 January 2016, Council must comply with the merger proposal period guidelines issued under S23A of the Local Government Act 1993.
The guidelines instruct Council it should expend money in accordance with the detailed budget adopted for the purposes of implementing the Delivery/Operational Plan for the 2015/16 year.
Any expenditure outside the adopted budget requires the identification of clear and compelling grounds and must be approved by Council at a meeting that is open to the public. The guidelines indicate the resolution of Council for increased expenditure must specify the reasons why the expenditure is required and warranted.
If increased expenditure is greater than $250,000 or 1% of the Council’s revenue from rates in the preceding year, whichever is the greater, Council is required to exhibit the increase to the budget and consider comments received.
Council must also avoid entering into contracts or undertakings where expenditure or revenue is greater than $250,000 or 1% of the Council’s revenue from rates in the preceding year, whichever is the greater, unless the contract or undertaking is as a result of a decision or procurement process commenced prior to the merger proposal period or where entering into a contract or undertaking is reasonably necessary for the purposes of meeting the ongoing service delivery commitments of the Council or was previously approved in the Council’s Delivery/Operational Plan.
Implications in this report
None of the applications are recommended to be funded because there are no uncommitted available funds for the applications attached to the report given both the General Donations, and Major Promotions budget have been fully expended.
The Donations Policy is promoted widely as part of the budget process and all applicants (successful or not) who have sought donations in the past couple of years, are individually written to with an invitation for them to make submissions for donations/sponsorships so their allocation is more certain given it is included in the budget processes.
For the first time this year, $2,000 for each Councillor has been reserved to enable Councillors to allocate up to $2,000 each to requests as they arise throughout the year. If any of the attached are supported by a Councillor, an allocation can be made from their remaining allocation. A table is provided below and it will be updated with each report to show how much each Councillor has apportioned to their supported projects.
The overall donations/sponsorship budget for 2016/17 is as follows:
|
Program |
Adopted Budget |
Actual/Committed |
Remaining balance |
|
General Donations |
84,378 |
84,378* |
Nil |
|
Major Promotions |
72,127 |
72,127 |
Nil |
* The allocation of 19 x $100 reserved for school prize giving is accounted for in the actual/committed column of the table. The actual/committed column also includes the Councillor allocation of $24,000 ($2,000 per Councillor) which is available to be allocated by Councillors throughout the year.
Process for the application of the remaining budget allocation
A Council resolution is required to allocate funds to any external entity, including as a donation. Hence, the provision of donations can only occur upon a Councillor’s request being specifically included in a resolution.
Applications are considered against the criteria outlined in the Donations Policy. There is an application form that should be submitted to commence the process of making a donation to another entity. The form contains details that inform Council that the donation aligns with the intentions the Council has established in the Community Strategic Plan.
Where a Councillor has advised they wish to pledge money to a particular cause, the pledge will be noted in the financial assistance report.
The steps to have donations considered are as follows:
1 Applicant completes donations form – available on the Council website or can be sent to the applicant.
2 Application is assessed against the criteria in the Donations Policy and reported to Council in the financial assistance report.
3 Council considers applications at a Council Meeting with Councillors specifically including in a resolution the amount and recipient of any donations supported.
4 In accordance with s356 of the Local Government Act, some donations require advertising and then a report back to Council of any submissions is required (i.e. where the recipient acts for financial benefit for example).
Individual Councillor allocations are as follows:
|
Councillor |
Adopted Budget |
Actual/Committed (as resolved) |
Remaining balance |
|
Councillor Davis |
$2,000 |
$2,000 – Forbes Flood Appeal |
Nil |
|
Councillor Hamling |
$2,000 |
$500 – Canobolas High School $500 – Orange White Ribbon $500 – Clontarf Foundation |
$500 |
|
Councillor Brown |
$2,000 |
$2,000 - Leukaemia Foundation |
Nil |
|
Councillor Duffy |
$2,000 |
$500 – Come Together Choir $500 – Foodcare Orange $500 – Fusion $500 – Carewest Preschool |
Nil
|
|
Councillor Gander |
$2,000 |
$1,500 – Foodcare Orange $500 - Fusion |
Nil |
|
Councillor Gryllis |
$2,000 |
$500 – Canobolas High School $500 – Carewest Preschool $1,000 – Forbes Flood Appeal |
Nil |
|
Councillor Jones |
$2,000 |
$0 |
$2,000 |
|
Councillor Kidd |
$2,000 |
$2,000 – Light it Red for Dyslexia |
Nil |
|
Councillor Munro |
$2,000 |
$2,000 – Anson St School |
Nil |
|
Councillor Taylor |
$2,000 |
$0 |
$2,000 |
|
Councillor Turner |
$2,000 |
$500 – Come Together Choir |
$1,500 |
|
Councillor Whitton |
$2,000 |
$0 |
$2,000 |
Policy and Governance Implications
Nil
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1 That a donation of $2,000 be made to the Riding for the Disabled from Cr Jones’ allocation. 2 That Councillors specify any other donation recipients and the amounts for each donation.
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further considerations
Consideration has been given to the recommendation’s impact on Council’s service delivery; image and reputation; political; environmental; health and safety; employees; stakeholders and project management; and no further implications or risks have been identified.
SUPPORTING INFORMATION
Riding for the Disabled Orange Centre – Request is for replacement of a swing set in a supervised area.
· Policy position – Complies with policy and if budget had been available staff would have recommended approval of the application.
· Total project costs are $4,410, but are seeking $2,350 from Council.
· Cr Jones has pledged to support this request to the value of $2,000, from his individual allocation. This pledge has been converted into the recommendation.
· Council has received a late request from the 2016 Christmas Day event at the Function Centre seeking an increase in the donation they have already received to hire the Function Centre, as the fees are higher for the Sunday Christmas Day falls on. The applicable fees are $1400. The policy position would be to offer the event $700, so a further allocation of $300 could be considered if a Councillor wished to support this.
1 Donations Table, D16/57471⇩
2 Riding for the Disabled Orange Centre, IC16/18985⇩
Finance Policy Committee 6 December 2016
2.2 Request for Financial Assistance
Attachment 1 Donations Table
|
No |
Applicant |
Amount Sought |
Policy Position |
Purpose |
Comment |
Recom-mended |
To be advertised |
|
A.1
|
Riding for the Disabled Orange Centre |
$2,350 |
Annual Allocation – Up to a maximum of $3,000 |
Riding for the Disabled are seeking financial assistance for the replacement of a swing set in their supervised play area. |
Policy Applied |
Yes |
No |
