PADDOCK WOOD TOWN COUNCIL
The Podmore Building, St Andrew’s Road, Paddock Wood, TN12 6HT
Telephone: 01892 837373
MINUTES OF A MEETING OF THE FINANCE COMMITTEE HELD on Wednesday 19th June 2024 at the Day Centre, Commercial Road at 7.45 pm.
PRESENT: Cllr R. Atkins
D. Dray, M. Munday, N Maari, R. Moon, B. Robichaud, J Thompson, C. Williams
IN ATTENDANCE: Mrs N Reay, Town Clerk
Mrs T Maxwell, Responsible Finance Officer
APOLOGY: Cllr M Munday
F1 DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST
There were no declarations of interest.
F2 MINUTES OF THE PREVIOUS MEETING
Cllr Thomspon proposed, Cllr Atkins seconded:
The minutes of the meeting 18/01/24 should be APPROVED.
CARRIED 4 in favour, 2 abstained.
F3 AUDIT REPORT
The council has a new Internal Auditor who has now carried out an Interim and Final Audit. Members received and noted a copy of the report.
The RFO advised that changes had been made following his recommendations.
- Using Scribe now we are uploading all financial documents to every transaction. This means that the Internal Auditor can access these remotely as can staff if they are working remotely. Ultimately this will mean that we will no longer store paper copies of items in future.
- Bank Reconciliations now need to be checked and signed by a Councillor who is NOT the chairman NOR an authorised signatory
- The Fidelity guarantee had been increased to £1m
- The Variable DD list had been updated and approved by the Full Council on the 17th June 2024
- The IT system had been upgraded
- VAT was longer being charged on sports pitches
F4 BUDGET 2024/25
The RFO advised that the figures for the first 2 months of the financial year.
Members noted the figures.
F5 BANK RECONCILIATION
Members Noted the bank reconciliation.
F6 RESERVES
Members noted the Reserve Balance and also noted that the auditor had advised reviewing the amount of the building maintenance reserve which he considered to be low.
F7 FINANCE REGULATIONS
New Financial Regulations were issued in April 2024. A marked copy is attached for members consideration.
The Chairman advised that given the number of revisions that were required this should be worked on outside the meeting in conjunction with the existing regulations and a draft copy brough back to the September meeting for discussion.
F8 BANKING
The council banks with Unity Trust Bank which has an arrangement with the NatWest for “high street” services. The NatWest in Paddock Wood will be closing in July which will leave the council with no facility to pay in cheques other than by post or obtain petty cash.
Petty Cash
- Already having issues obtaining Petty Cash as neither Clerk nor RFO can be a signatory for the bank account
- Bank will not release funds except to a signatory, with a signed letter and cheque made payable to Cash and recipient of the cash.
- Petty Cash or £100 is currently usually only obtained 1-2 times a year.
Proposal – that Clerk or RFO withdraws money from their own account and submits an expense claim (with the Petty Cash backing) and this is processed in line with current invoices.
Cllr Atkins proposed, Cllr Williams seconded:
That the proposal as per the agenda should be accepted.
CARRIED 4 in favour, 1 abstention.
Cheques
- Have confirmed with Unity Trust bank that there is nowhere nearby that we can submit cheques.
- Would need to submit all cheques by post
- This would incur delays, risk of losing and cost of postage
- Cheques are mainly received from PWFC, RBL, Dignity Funerals, Kent Memorials, Allotment Holders (direct to B Mace), Plot Reservations
Proposal – the Council refuses cheques from July. If it must accept a cheque, then a processing cost is added. A credit card machine is purchased to accept payments from residents in the Town Council offices, but that businesses such as Dignity etc, switch to bank transfers (currently we get a variety of bank transfers and cheques from them). A transaction fee will need to be agreed.
Members discussed the proposal and whether a transaction fee should be charged when paying by credit card. Some concern was expressed as to whether refusing cheques from July was too soon and residents should be given greater notice. However, this was not felt to be an issue as most people were familiar with paying by card and very few places accept cheques anymore.
Cllr Atkins proposed, Cllr Thompson seconded:
That the card machine should be purchased, initially transactions charges should not be passed on, but this would be reviewed when fees are reviewed earlier in the year.
CARRIED 4 in favour, 1 against (Cllr Moon)
Member felt that accepting cheques and posting them to the bank would be an unacceptable risk.
Cllr Atkins proposed, Cllr Thompson seconded.
That the Town Council refuses to accept cheques from July.
CARRIED 4 in favour 1 against (Cllr Moon)
F9 POSTAGE
There have had many issues with Royal Mail, returning empty envelopes, citing insufficient postage costs etc.
This has meant the office is unsure which letters have been received, as no address has been on the returned item, or those that have been returned with details were several months old.
Proposal – The council switches to Evri for tracked mail. Postage can be paid for online (therefore saving Petty Cash). This provides tracking from dispatch to delivery. Cost is similar to a large envelope but cheaper than tracked by Royal Mail. Can be dispatched from Tesco Express or the Wine Mill.
Cllr Atkins proposed, Cllr Williams seconded:
That the Council switches to tracked Evri post going forward
CARRIED 4 in favour, 1 against
F10 INVESTMENTS
- Investment Policy – the Auditor has recommended that the Council’s investment policy is reviewed within the next 6 months. All funds are held in the Liquidity Account. Members agreed to review the policy and a draft will be brought to the next meeting.
- Request to transfer money from current account to liquidity account to earn interest.
Transfers can now be done internally by Clerk and RFO so this is possible.
The RFO will keep enough funds in the current account for day to day expenses.
Cllr Atkins proposed, Cllr Williams seconded:
The Clerk or RFO should be allowed to transfer between the Liquidity & Current Account.
CARRIED unanimously.
F11 NEW IT SYSTEM
The New IT system is currently being installed, will allow for cloud files for both staff and councillors. Rolling it out to staff first.
New Civicly app is currently being trialled (beta version). This will allow staff to upload assets and information on assets, value, condition, location, photos etc. It is hoped to get the full version later this year.
F12 DATE OF NEXT MEETING
The next meeting will take place on Monday 23rd September 2024.
The meeting closed at 9 pm.