In accordance with the Council’s Constitution, questions to the Resources Portfolio Holder must be received in writing 4 working days before the date of the meeting and must relate to the work of the Portfolio. Please ensure questions are received by the Democratic Services Team by 5pm on Friday 16th November 2018.
Minutes:
The following oral question was received from Councillor Ian Dunn:
What public consultation is planned for the 2019/20 budget?
Reply:
Two separate resident association meetings will be held on 27th November 2018 and 29th November 2018 relating to Looking to the Future – the Council’s budget 2019-20 and beyond. Members of the public will be invited to let the Council know what is important to them, what the Council is doing well, where they believe improvements could be made and a greater focus placed, and how the Council can work better with communities to keep and improve the Borough as the great place it is to live, work, do business and relax in, as we move to the future.
There is background information on the website and a media release will be going out this week linking with social media. The outcomes will be reported to the 16th January 2019 meeting of the Executive.
Up to finalising the budget for next year, specific budget proposals will be submitted to PDS committees and Executive which will include the arrangements and the outcome of consultation with key stakeholders which may include the public, where appropriate.
Consultation papers on the 2019/20 Budget will also be sent to Bromley Business Focus, Federation of Small Businesses (Sevenoaks & Bromley Branch) and the 20 largest business ratepayers in the Borough. The outcome will be reported to Executive in February 2019.
Supplementary Question:
In previous years public meetings attended by Members of the Executive were held. Why are no such meetings being held this year?
Reply:
The Portfolio Holder said that he was not convinced that the public meetings represented value for money as in previous years less than ½% of residents attended. The Portfolio Holder cited an example of one meeting with the Executive attended by only 5 members of the public. The Portfolio Holder said that he did not believe that this type of public meeting was the correct way to connect with residents and instead alternative mediums such as multimedia should be considered and that there should be a focus on this type of engagement going forward.
Supplementary Question from Cllr Benington:
What time are the Residents’ Association Meetings being held?
Reply:
7pm
Second Supplementary Question from Cllr Dunn:
Cllr Dunn noted that he had been to public meetings that had been attended by several hundred members of the public. Cllr Dunn questioned whether there was another reason for not holding public meetings.
Reply:
The Portfolio Holder stated that he believed that Residents’ Associations were representative of residents of the Borough and could provide accurate feedback to the Executive. The Portfolio Holder reported that his only marginal concern was that as a result of engaging with Residents’ Associations it was harder to receive feedback from younger residents. However, to address this Members would be meeting with Bromley Youth Council. The Portfolio Holder stressed that there was an important role for elected councillors throughout the consultation process and that through their attendance at meetings where the budget was discussed Members should be representing all their residents.