Present:

Members	Present	Apologies	Reason
Chair: Cllr M Horwood	✓
Deputy Chair: Cllr V Letchford	✓
Cllr C Barnes	✓
Cllr J Barnes	✓
Cllr G Darrington	✓
Cllr J Domigan	✓	✓	Work Commitments
Cllr C Lee	✓
Cllr J Tuckfield		✓	Absent

Also Present: Cllr J Griffiths, Cllr T Searles

Officers: Chief Executive Officer (CEO) – Ryan Hayman
Executive Assistant – Tracey Bayliss
Responsible Finance Officer (RFO) – Steve Innes
Parks & Open Spaces Manager – George Brooker

Public: None present.

11835 – APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE
Cllr J Domigan

11836 – MINUTES OF PREVIOUS MEETING
To approve as correct the Minutes of the Meetings held on Wednesday 16th November 2022.
APPROVED & SIGNED

11837 – DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST
NONE

11838 – TO RECEIVE THE MONTHLY FINANCES

Civic Centre: 7351 Travel – It was asked what the amount of £55.02 was for.

RFO confirmed that it was train travel expenses for a meeting that the CEO and Parks & Open Spaces Manager attended.

7603 Consultancy Fees – It was asked what the £3,100 was for.

RFO confirmed that it was for two items.

The consultancy fee for the bio diversity plan for the Olympic relating to the acid grass and for the Neighbourhood Plan meetings.

4053 Solar Panel Income – It was asked why no income has been received for three months.

RFO confirmed that the income was quarterly and the readings were submitted last week and payment will be received shortly.

Alexandra Suite: 4120 Room Hire – Regular – It was asked why the amount had reduced for December. RFO confirmed that it was due to the time of year and less working days in December for the room to be hired out.

It was confirmed that the majority of the hire was for market research and was dependent on how often they undertook their surveys.

Olympic: 7800 Repairs and Maintenance – It was asked what the £299.34 amount related to. RFO confirmed it was in relation to repairs to the intruder alarm system.

Swanley Park: 4710 Car Parking – It was asked why there was a large difference between the amounts.

RFO confirmed that it was due to the frequency of the invoicing and cross over between the months.

Housing: 4040 Rent Property #1 – It was asked why it was only £1,450 in December.

RFO confirmed that it was due to the timing of the payments at the end of the month and that December’s rent was received early January.

4043 Rent Property #4 – It was asked if the £2,500 payment in October covered September and October.

RFO that this was correct and that the payment in December would be for November and confirmed that the payment received in early January 2023 was for December.

It was asked if the payments could be set up to be more consistent on a date each month.

CEO confirmed that dates had been amended to suit the people renting the properties but they had not always paid on that date.

He confirmed that the rental money is not received directly but via the letting agents which adds a slight delay on the money being received into the bank account. There are no concerns over rental payments.

It was asked if the properties were inspected internally and when was the last time they were inspected.

CEO confirmed that one property was visited this week and that another was recently let out and was inspected July/August.

CEO confirmed that generally a member of the Estates team are in the properties carrying out various maintenance duties.

It was asked if there was anything in the clauses of the contracts to state that STC can perform inspections on a three monthly basis.

CEO confirmed that STC have rights to enter the properties as and when required. It was suggested that a property inspection schedule be drawn up to inspect all STC properties.

Swanley Link: RFO mentioned that the pay award was agreed in December which is backdated to April and this is reflected in the salary amount for December.

4056 Black Refuse Sacks – It was asked if we held £7,000 worth of stock.

RFO confirmed that was not the case.

The total that was spent on refuse sacks was £9,750, income was approximately £10,900.

Bank Reconciliation: It was asked if the drop in the balance of the current account between November and December was due to the money being paid out for the Skate park. RFO confirm that was the case.

He mentioned that the CCLA account last month that the actual interested received was in excess of £900 whereas previously it had only been £5 per month.

Payments Out: It was mentioned that there were a lot of payments out to various fencing companies over the two months.

RFO confirmed that there had been a lot of ongoing fencing maintenance mainly at the Park and various fencing supply companies had been used to gain the best deals for the supplies needed.

Creditors/Debtors: It was asked why Focus Windows was showing as an older amount for December but there is no mention of it in November.

CEO confirmed that this company had been instructed to install the new doors and windows for the Alex.

They asked for a deposit which was paid and we are still awaiting for the work to be completed.

The whole invoice was entered on the system and once the work is completed the remainder will be paid.

They have said that they are completing the work early February.

It was asked what the amount of £240 The Oasis Birth Company was for.

RFO confirmed that we had invoiced them for a banner which they were going to supply the artwork for but they have not yet supplied this.

RFO confirmed that this is being pursued and it will be resolved.

• RESOLVED – accepted reports A/B/C/D/E/F/G/H/I/J/K

Date of next meeting – Wednesday 15th February 2023

MEETING CLOSED AT: 19:50

SIGNED: 15/02/2023

Cllr M Horwood
Chair of Policy and Finance