COOKHAM   PARISH   COUNCIL 

Minutes of a Meeting of the

FINANCE & GENERAL PURPOSES COMMITTEE

PRESENT:       Cllrs: M. Barnes, P. Brockwell, M. Coker, S. Fairlie, G. Harris, M. Innes,

R. Piercey, A. Prichard, M. Wellman and H.J. Woodbridge.

1.         APPOINTMENT OF CHAIRMAN:

Cllr A. Prichard proposed Cllr M. Wellman to continue as Chairman of the Finance and General Purposes Committee. This was seconded by Cllr P. Brockwell.

2.         APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE AND DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST:

Apologies were received from Cllr J. Stretton. There were no Declarations of Interest. Cllr M. Innes announced that he wished to stand down from this Committee. It was AGREED unanimously that his place would be filled by Cllr R. Piercey.

3.         REQUEST TO INCREASE CONTRIBUTION TO LIBRARY OPENING HOURS:

The Chairman thought that we had only agreed £1500 for the first year of the library opening. There was certainly no agreement to increase the contribution every year. Mark Taylor’s letter stated that the cost had risen to £4,000 making the Parish Council’s contribution rise to £2,000. On the proposition of Cllr Woodbridge, seconded by Cllr Coker it was agreed to write to Mark Taylor to ask him to justify this large increase. Cllr Coker commented that the precept had been fixed for this financial year and could not be changed.

4.         TO CONSIDER ALLOWANCES FOR COUNCILLORS:

Cllr Woodbridge said that the topic arose at a recent BALC training event. The Clerk had since made enquiries and was advised that there is no national recommendation for the Chairman and Councillors’ allowances. It is entirely up to the discretion of the Parish Council. However, BALC also recommended that items purchased for individuals, such as a bouquet for a sick Councillor, should be taken out of the “Allowances” pot rather than put through the books as an official expense. It was decided to put the topic on the agenda for the next Full Council Meeting.

5.                  TO REVIEW THE BALC TEMPLATE CLERICAL CONTRACT AND DRAFT JOB ADVERTISEMENT:

The Clerk tabled a draft contract for a new Clerical Assistant based on the template supplied by BALC (Berkshire Association of Local Councils). Various changes were discussed. It was agreed to advertise the job in the Maidenhead Advertiser for two consecutive weeks in July. The Clerk would send them to BALC for approval first.

6.       TO APPROVE SERVICE LEVEL AGREEMENT FOR IT SERVICES FROM RBWM FOR 04-05:

The Schedule was tabled for the Councillors. Included in the cover: Support of PC and Laptop @ £250 per year; Support of printer @£100 per year; network connection for email only (no server based data access); internet access and anti-virus software. The hardware support covered the cost of providing help to overcome operational problems but excludes the cost of repair and replacement. It was RESOLVED to agree to the £600 contract on condition that the Parish Council could have access to the RBWM intranet at no extra cost. Other equipment was briefly discussed and it was agreed that we may need to replace the scanner to a more up-to-date version. The scanner could then be used as a back-up should the photocopier break down! Also Cllr Coker had a CD writer, re-writer and DVD reader for just £37.50 from a company called Combined Precision Components. Cllr Wellman proposed that we go ahead with this purchase, this was seconded by Cllr Prichard.

7.       PAYMENT FOR REMOVABLE POST ON CAUSEWAY:

This was an urgent item left over from the Footpaths and Open Spaces Committee. On the proposition of Cllr Woodbridge, seconded by Cllr Brockwell it was agreed to pay Joe Stoneman £300 to fit a removable gatepost to this gate to allow the grass to be cut in front of Moor Hall. This money would be refunded by the Environment Agency.

8.                  TO CONSIDER COMPENSATION PAYMENTS TO VICTIMS OF VANDALISM:

It was agreed that should any such request be sent to the Parish Council it should be sent to the appropriate Committee for review at the time.

The meeting closed at 9.50pm.