Agenda item

Councillor Yates, Cabinet Member for Financial Services & Estates introduced the item for discussion and made the following points:

• The proposed overall increase to fees and charges was 2.5%. This would  contribute about £208k towards the 2020/21 council budget;
• The council was still experiencing financial pressure;
• Officers had been tasked to study and identify best practices being used elsewhere by other councils in order to enable council to creatively adopt any such practices to meet set objectives, particularly those relating to how the budget gap could be closed;
• Any identified new initiatives would be discussed through cross party engagement before adoption;
• The Panel was being asked to review the proposals in the report. Any recommendations from the Panel would be discussed with the group leaders in order to ensure that these ideas are adopted collaboratively and were subject to appropriate scrutiny.

Responding to the presentation Panel Members and Councillor Bailey speaking under Council Procedure 20.1 made comments and asked questions as follows the following:

• It is good to know that the car parking charges for Joss Bay Marina have been reduced. However this left three of the most expensive car parks still in Broadstairs;
• Were the residents only daily voucher scheme of £2.60 are the same as the seasonal parking vouchers for these expensive car parks, which are Chandos Street, Harbour Street and Albion Street?
• Was that the same scheme that has been used for the last couple of years?
• It was also good to see permits for hoteliers increased from 20 this year to 40 in the new financial year. However why was there a difference in the charges? Hoteliers in Ramsgate would have to pay £3.50 and those in Broadstairs would have to pay £6.00. Why was it the case?
• Applauded the initiative for reduction of car parking charges in Lawn Road in Broadstairs, particularly the free parking for the first 30 minutes. It would be even better if such an offer was given to parking in the high streets;
• There hadn’t been an increases for charges relating to corporate marketing for the last seven or eight years. This could be an area of comparatively easy income. Why was that the case?
• The charges for the enforcement for unauthorised waste collection had not been changed since January 2017, when it was set at £400. Increasing that charge would have sent a strong message about the consequences of fly-tipping. Why was that the case?
• What areas did the Fees and Charges Cabinet Advisory Group concentrate on and what recommendations did they come up with? What did the Portfolio Holder incorporate into the fees and charges proposals that came from the CAG?
• Regarding the best practice ideas, which local councils were officers asked to go to and what specific areas where they asked to study? Would the new best practice ideas be presented to the Panel before adoption?
• Why was the proposed Wellington Crescent residents car parking scheme not in the schedule of fees and charges?
• The events application fee was being proposed for a 4% increase. This could be viewed as a disincentive for the volunteers who host these events. Could this be not kept at the same level, with a 0% increase?

Councillor Yates, Tim Willis and Chris Blundell, Head of Financial Services responded as follows:

• The issue regarding the residents only car parking voucher scheme and the different charges for hoteliers would be responded to in writing after the meeting;
• On the proposed charges for unauthorised waste collection, the portfolio holder would hold cross party discussions to see if there was any possibility for increasing that fee;
• Corporate marketing charges were flexible, the minimum was set out here and the charges would be on a case by case basis;
• Searching for best practice ideas would ensure council incorporated the best ideas possible for achieving the newly set corporate objectives before finalising the council budget;
• At the cabinet advisory group, the focus was on car parking charges. Members considered expanding the use of automatic number plate recognition to improve collection of car parking charges;
• For any changes that would be made to the proposed fees and charges when these proposals were presented to Cabinet, the Panel could call-in the Cabinet decision to review those changes;
• The public consultation regarding the proposed Wellington Crescent residents car parking permits was completed. Council was now waiting for the installation of the machines to implement the scheme and that scheme would be in the updated list of linear charges category.

Councillor Campbell proposed, Councillor Tomlinson seconded and Members recommended that Cabinet considered not to increase the events application fee, thereby keeping it at £75.