Decision details

It was resolved –

•           To note the formal consultation meetings on the budget and the resulting feedback as outlined in Section 2 of Appendix 1 and in

Appendix 2 to the report.

•           To note the equalities impact assessment summary on the budget proposals as outlined in Section 10 of the report and in Appendix 5.

•           To agree the final details of the Council’s proposed budget including the revised funding in response to budget pressures and the proposed savings as shown in Section 8 of Appendix 1 and in Appendix 3.

•           That the proposed reduction in the delegated schools budget be allocated on the basis of the 2018/19 budget share. This would allocate the budget reduction between the three sectors as follows: £347k in the primary sector; £252k in the secondary sector; £27k in the special sector (Section 9.3 of the report).

•           To note the Section 151 Officer’s recommendation that a minimum of £6.7m general balances is maintained for 2019/20.

•           To note the comments made by the Section 151 Officer on the robustness of the estimates made as set out in Section 6 of the Appendix 1.

•           To recommend a net budget for the County Council and resulting increase in the level of Council Tax to the Full Council, noting that a formal resolution, including the North Wales Police and Community Council precepts, will be presented to the Council on the 27 February, 2019.

•           To authorise the Section 151 Officer to make such changes as may be necessary before the submission of the final proposals to the Council.

•           To agree that any unforeseen pressures on demand led budgets during the financial year will be able to draw upon funding from the general contingencies budget.

•           To request the Council to authorise the Executive to release up to £250k from general balances if the general contingencies budget is fully committed during the year.

•           To delegate to the Section 151 Officer the power to release funding from the general contingency up to £50k for any single item. Any item in excess of £50k not to be approved without the prior consent of the Executive.

•           To recommend to the Council a 9.5% increase in the level of Council Tax.

•           To approve the increase in the Council Tax Premium for second homes from 25% to 35% and the increase in the Council Tax Premium for empty homes from 25% to 100%.

•           To accept the recommendation of the Corporate Scrutiny Committee that in order to further improve the consultation process for future years, the process should reflect and/or address the following:

•           Demographic profile of respondents

•           Differentiation between service users/non-users

•           Prevention of multiple/duplicate responses by respondents

•           How different percentage increases in Council Tax are linked to service cuts/gains.