Decisions

Resolved

(1)          That the calendar of meetings for Cherwell District Council (CDC) for the municipal year 2018/19 (annex to the Minutes as set out in the Minute Book) be approved.

(2)          That the joint committees calendar of meetings for the municipal year 2018/19 (annex to the Minutes as set out in the Minute Book) be approved, subject to similar agreement by South Northamptonshire Council.

Resolved

(1)          That agreement be given to hold a Community Governance Review as soon as practical to consult on the principle of including the development site of Graven Hill within the boundary of Bicester Town Council.

Resolved

(1)          That agreement be given to amend the terms of reference of the Joint Commissioning Committee to include the determination of terms and conditions and the determination of HR policies, the creation of new posts where there is an increase to the establishment and no budget and the restructuring of teams involving more than ten posts for all staff employed by Cherwell District and South Northamptonshire Councils.

(2)          That authority be delegated to the Monitoring Officer, in consultation with the Chief Executive, to reassign the officer scheme of delegation in accordance with the new senior management structure as agreed by the Joint Commissioning Committee to add the proposed delegations relating to Primary Authority status, restructures of ten posts or less and updates to the spatial planning delegations and to amend the constitution accordingly.

(3)          That officers be requested to carry out a review of constitutional and governance arrangements for discussion and consideration by group leaders.

Resolved

(1)          That the creation of a capital budget of up to £2,500,000 to be made available in the event that Executive agree the business case for the pilot scheme in January 2018 be approved.

(2)          That authority be delegated to the Chief Finance Officer to approve the final amount of each individual loan within the pilot scheme and the form of the loan agreements to facilitate those loans.

Resolved

(1)          That the Council Tax Reduction Scheme (CTRS) for the year 1 April 2018 to 31 March 2019 as set out in the annex to the Minutes (as set out in the Minute Book) be approved and implemented with effect from 1 April 2018.

(2)          That delegated authority be granted to the Section 151 Officer to make further amendments to the CTRS Regulations up to and including 31 January 2018 in consultation with the Lead Member for Financial Management.

(3)          That, having given due consideration, the following level of Council Tax discounts for 2018-2019 be approved:

·         Retain the discount for second homes at zero

·         Retain the discount for empty homes (unoccupied and substantially unfurnished) at 25% for 6 months and thereafter at zero.

·         Retain the discount for empty homes undergoing major repair at 25% for 12 months and thereafter at zero.

·         Retain the empty homes premium of an additional 50% for properties that have remained empty for more than 2 years.

Resolved

That the following motion be adopted:

We pledge that as elected members and representatives of our political parties we will:

·         not ourselves misuse social media;

·         seek out and stop any personal attacks by our own political parties, the elected members of our parties, paid up members and activists of our political parties; and

·         show due respect to the people we represent and to our elected colleagues.