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On Tuesday, I went to my first meeting as a member of HPC’s Finance and Policy Committee.
First, I would like to thank the other three councillors on the Committee – Cllrs Kearey, Capey and Gieler – and the Clerks for their helpfulness and patience in helping me to understand what I was doing and answering all my questions.
I want to concentrate in this blog on one issue that a number of residents have raised – the large amount of money in HPC’s reserves. I’m going to deal in round numbers here and try to paint the broad picture so apologies if it isn’t exactly right.
HPC gets an income of about £250k every year. Most of that income, about £210k comes from what is known as the precept i.e. local taxes which households pay each year.
You can find how much tax you pay for HPC in your council tax bill but it’s about £100 a year. It went up by 1.9% this year and by 10% over the last 5 years.
HPC also holds money in its reserves. This is usually money which Councils set aside for emergencies and major projects.
About 5 years ago, HPC held about £150k in its reserves. However, over the past 5 years, HPC hasn’t been spending all of its income and the reserves have now built to an usually large amount of £350k.
So in total, this year, HPC will have over £600k at its disposal.
So the questions I and other residents have been asking are:-
1. How can the money be spent on things that will benefit the community, particularly in the light of COVID?
2. Why does Hughenden – a parish which is one of the most prosperous in the country – apparently have more than enough money, but children in deprived parts of Bucks are going hungry?
3. Does HPC need all this money?
I’m going to park questions 2. and 3.but I can provide some information so residents can think about question 1.
HPC’s income this year (£254,000) is budgeted to cover its expenditure as follows, (in my words):-
Normal day-to-day spend on things on the ground (allotments, burial ground, cutting the grass and hedges, managing open spaces, playgrounds and lighting) - £120k
Support (administration, facilities, communications and governance) - £120k
Which leaves £14k free for “projects”, as yet unspecified.
The £354k in the reserves is currently allocated as follows:-
Contingencies £78k
Contingency maintenance of Parish Council building £20k
New extension to Parish Council building £25k
Burial Grounds renovation £34k
Templewood Playground £27k
Great Kingshill Playground £45k
Trees £24k
Accumulated rent to HCST £19k
Office equipment £7k
Road safety £11k
Elections £12k
Street lighting survey for Windmill Estate £15k
Residents survey £3k
Total £320k
Some of these allocation have been made to items which are only tentative ideas at this stage (e.g. the new extension to the Parish Council building), some are based on what I understand are relatively firm plans (e.g. the Templewood Playground), and some depend on what others may charge HPC (e.g. election expenses).
There are two additional pots of money in the reserves: -
- £24k from payments by developers (known as the Community Infrastructure Levy) received a few years ago and not yet spent. It is intended to be spent on infrastructure which would benefit the communities affected by development. No projects have as yet been specified; and
- £10k for projects (as yet unspecified) to be jointly funded with the Community Board.
Conclusion
If I have got this right, then there is £48k available for “projects” in Hughenden – and considerably more if Council thinks an extension to the Council building is not value for money.
Whether HPC needs all this money depends partly on residents proposing projects which are needed – and a survey is going out during the summer – and partly on the Council’s capacity to deliver.
So its over to the residents. All I would say is that I hope as much as the money as possible is targeted on those who need it most, and particularly those who have suffered, and are suffering, during this pandemic.
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