Issue - meetings

(NOTE: A copy of the report that was considered by the Executive on 4^th February 2019 is attached).

The Head of Resources advised Council that the Head of Operational Services had requested that the commercial waste charges for the collection of garden waste be amended to be aligned to the collection of domestic garden waste of £36 per year.  It was therefore recommended that the charge for the collection of commercial garden waste be amended to £36 per year.

Report by Head of Resources (attached).

The Executive considered a report by the Head of Resources (circulated previously), the options and/or alternatives and other relevant facts set out in the report regarding  the review of Charges and Fees for Services 2019/20.

The Head of Resources highlighted the following:

·         This year the guidance was to increase some fees and charges by 3%, although some fees are set by statute and these will be set nationally.

·         Other variations to the 3% increase were set out in paragraphs 5.3 to 5.8 in the report.

·         Trade Waste charges have been reviewed and simplified to aid the customer’s understanding of the charging structure. Zones 1 and 2 have now been combined with a minimum increase of 5%, with schedule 2 and Recycling charges increasing by 10%. The Head of Operational Services had confirmed that with these price increases the service was still commercially competitive. (Appendix 3)

·         Land Charges fees have been set to recoup the cost of providing the service, without changing the current fees the land charges service was still budgeted to recover all the costs and break even. (Appendix 4)

·         There were minimal changes to the Environment Health fees, as the majority of these were set by statute or set to recover costs. The changes include, amendments to the animal licence fees. With Zoos and Dangerous Wild Animal Licences being under review. (Appendix 5)

·         Single Sports pitch hire increased by 14.2%. The significant increase was due to current charges for grass pitch hire being relatively cheap. Block hire had also been introduced but kept at the 18-19 prices to encourage customers to lock themselves into a block booking of at least 11 games. (Appendix 7)

·         The Pannier Market fees have been recommended to be increased by 3%.  It was proposed that the additional £6,000 received be earmarked to be spent on the Pannier Market.  (Appendix 8)

·         Garden Waste charges have not been increased for 2 years and it was proposed not to increase the fees for the third year running.  This would be reviewed in 2020/21. (Appendix 10).

·         The net changes in the charges were expected to result in £88,400 of additional income which have been included within the draft 2019/20 budget.

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REASONS FOR RECOMMENDATIONS