Minutes September 2021

MINUTES OF THE MEETING THURDSAY, 16 SEPTEMBER 2021 AT RANTON VILLAGE HALL

PRESENT:

Cllr. M. Russell (Chair)

Cllr D Batchelor (Vice-Chair)

Cllr. J. Forrester

Cllr B Jeeves.

Gayle Whelan (parish clerk)

21/33 Apologies.

All councillors were present.

21/34 Declarations of interest in the following agenda:

Cllr Russell will attend the church PCC meeting on 24 September 2021, representing the parish

council.

21/35 Previous minutes:

The minutes of the previous meeting were accepted as a true record of the meeting.

21/36

Questions from the public:

None in attendance.

21/37 Finance matters:

Accounts to date:

The latest statement date for 01 September 2021 showed:

Reserve account balance £978.00

Current account balance £10,204.82.

A cheque for insurance to Zurich Municipal was signed for the forthcoming year's policy for £266.00

A cheque for parish clerk hours of £264.94 was signed for 24 hours worked between April and

September 2021.

Action ongoing: Councillors are still looking into the possibility of alternative banking after a number

of difficulties with Natwest Bank over the years.

Cllr Russell reported that NatWest community banking is able to place parameters and a bank

mandate to ensure security of the account. For example, four signatures can be authorised.

Authorising signatures would be placed on an invoice and recorded in the minutes as part of the

parish council meeting, before any online payments were actioned. It was suggested that at each

monthly meeting, a statement would be printed out. It was felt that online banking would leave an

auditable paper and online trail and would be easier to reconcile. Once details of an online account,

were finalised, councillors can agree to mandates, such as who pays bill in the absence of the clerk.

Cllr Russell proposed setting up an online account for the parish council finances. This was

seconded by Cllr Winnington. The votes were four in favour and one abstainer.

Action: Cllr Russell will organise the online account with Nat West Bank.

Reserve account:

Cllr Rusell also proposed moving funds from the parish council's main account to the reserve

account. It was agreed the amount would be discussed once online banking was available.

VAT refund form:

The VAT form is due to be submitted online, however, it was felt beneficial for the clerk to attend a

VAT training course, before this actioned.

Action: Parish clerk to arrange a training session with SPCA.

Laptop:

It was agreed that a laptop should be purchased for the use of the parish clerk. A quote for one was

offered as a benchmark to the councillors. New Inspiron 15 3000 £343.99 (currently £296.00 with

code SAVE14). 15.6-inch Windows 10 Home, 4gb memory, wireless and BT connection

https://deals.dell.com/en-uk/productdetail/aiwj. It was suggested that a printer and ink be included.

Cllr Winnington stated that it may be possible to obtain one through SBC.

Reports:

Mowing: Cllr Russell has spoken to Mr Bailey regarding grass being left in churchyard on top of a

mound of earth. Councillors will check after the next grass cutting whether the pile has been added

to.

Highways: Issues regarding tarmac left on Brook Lane and Coton Lane.

Action: Cllr Winnington will email Mark Keeling regarding tarmac dumped as part of an emergency

repair on Brook Lane and will arrange a site visit with Highways.

Footpaths: Nettles have overgrown on footpaths on Dog Lane. There is also a rotten stile also.

Such issues can be report online by residents.

Gulleys and weeding: It was agreed that this matter be discussed later on in the year.

8pm Cllr Winnington left the meeting.

20/38 Clerk's report

Updates: Thank you to Cllr Batchelor for compiling a five-year accounts spreadsheet, including

automatic monthly balance calculations. This has been distributed to all councillors and will be

updated monthly prior to each meeting.

Courses attendance for councillors:

Parish councillor training: Councillor Fundamentals (zoom £25): Thursday 11.11.21 6.30-

8.30pm

Parish clerk training (zoom): The knowledge (£75) 15/22.10.21 6.30-9pm

VAT for local councils zoom (£30) 20.10.21 7-9pm

Cllr Winnington proposed that all three courses be booked for the parish clerk and Cllr Jeeves. Cllr

Batchelor seconded the motion, and three councillors each voted in favour. Cllr Batchelor

expressed his interest in attending a course for council chairs in the forthoming year.

Action: parish clerk will forward booking details onto Cllr Jeeves.

Defibrillator:

This has now been rehoused during work to the village hall and has been placed on wooden posts

at the entrance to the village hall car park. New pads and replacement battery are also needed.

Community Heartbeat, who have supplied the defibrillator, have been contacted regarding payment

and an invoice will be issued. The new battery will cost £179 plus VAT and expired replacement

pads £42 plus VAT and £4 delivery (total: £265.60).

20/39 Planning updates

None.

20/40 Chairman's questions/items for information/next agenda

The parish council's noticeboard needs repair. Cllrs agreed to consider this as part of the

forthcoming year's budget.

Administrative procedures for the parish clerk were discussed (summarised in a separate

document).

Items for following meeting agenda:

 Signs throughout the village have been reported as being unclean. It was suggested that the

parish council employs Neil Harris (window cleaner) to clean the signs.

 Grass cutting at Ranton All Saints School.

 Replacement noticeboard

 Village hall committee meetings will be added back into the reports section of the meeting.

The next parish council meeting is scheduled for Thursday, October 21, 2021 at 7.30pm

Signed.................................................. Date...........................

Gayle Whelan, Ranton Parish Council Clerk. rantonparishcouncil@gmail.com