May 2024 Minutes Annual Parish Council Meeting
Croft Parish Council
Minutes of the Annual Meeting of the Council held at Croft Village Hall on Tuesday 7th May 2024 commencing at 7pm. These are notes of the meeting until approved by the Council as a true record.
Present:
Cllrs A Coxall (Chair), G Bowser, and S Gould.
1. To elect a Chairperson of the Council for the forthcoming term of office.
Cllr Coxall was proposed and seconded, with no other Councillors nominated, it was resolved unanimously to duly elect Cllr Coxall as Chair of the Council.
2. To receive the Chairperson’s declaration of acceptance of office.
The Declaration of Acceptance of Office was signed by Cllr Coxall.
3. To elect a Vice-Chairperson of the Council for the forthcoming term of office.
Cllr Drury was proposed and seconded, with no other Councillors nominated, it was resolved unanimously to duly elect Cllr Drury as Vice-Chair of the Council.
4. To receive the Vice-Chairperson’s declaration of acceptance of office.
The Declaration of Acceptance of Office to be signed by Cllr Drury and the Parish Clerk.
5. Public Forum
There were no members of the public in attendance.
6. Apologies
It was resolved unanimously to accept apologies from Cllrs S Blackburn, N Cooper, S Dennis and C Drury (Vice-Chair); and the Clerk - J Sargent.
7. Welcome from the Chair of the Council.
The Chair welcomed all present.
8. Declarations of Interest
Cllr Bowser - item 15.
9. To confirm the minutes of the Council meeting held on Monday 4th March 2024.
With no matters arising, it was resolved unanimously to accept the minutes as a true and accurate record of the meeting.
10. To approve the list of accounts submitted for consideration.
a. March Income and Expenditure
b. April Income and Expenditure
With no matters arising, it was resolved unanimously to accept the list of accounts.
11. To receive updated bank reconciliation for:
a. March
b. April
The Clerk provided the bank reconciliation for information purposes only.
12. To receive a review of the end of year accounts.
The Clerk provided a review of the end of year accounts to keep Councillors up to date with the Council’s financial status. Councillors queried a figure of £5,204.47 attributed to miscellaneous. The Clerk to confirm.
13. To receive a budget review for the fourth quarter of the financial year.
The Clerk provided a budget review for the fourth quarter of the financial year to keep Councillors up to date with the Council’s income and expenditure, with a comparison to the previous year. No questions were raised.
14. To approve direct debit payments to BT.
Cllr Coxall confirmed this was for the Wi-Fi in the Village Hall. It was resolved unanimously to approve direct debit payments to BT.
15. To consider a donation towards grass cutting for the Parochial Church Council, Croft.
Cllr Coxall to liaise with Councillors for approval due to Cllr Bowsers conflict of interest. To confirm at the next meeting.
16. To receive notification of any planning permissions, refusals, or amendments.
None received.
17. To receive a report on the Village Hall.
Cllr Coxall reported that some additional bookings have been made but there is a worrying deficit in the annual accounts and expressed concerns that reserves could soon be used up.
18. To consider a Local Council Award Scheme Action Plan.
It was resolved unanimously to approve the action plan.
19. To consider policies for review
a. Standing Orders
b. Code of Conduct
c. Financial Regulations
d. Reserves Policy
It was resolved unanimously to adopt the policies tabled for review.
20. To approve the Annual Governance and Accountability Return for 2023/24.
a. To approve section 1, points 1 - 9 of the Annual Governance Statement for 2023/24.
b. To approve section 2, Accounting Statement.
It was resolved unanimously to approve both the Annual Governance Statement and the Accounting Statement. The Clerk to submit to the external auditor.
The Chair of the Council closed the meeting at 8:00pm.