Minutes:
The Committee considered the undernoted report:
“1. Relevant Background Information
1.1 The Development Committee considered a request for funding of the above event at its meeting on 20 June 2013. The request was for funding of up to £25,000 per annum for the next three years (total £75,000).
1.2 The Development Committee was advised that there was no funding earmarked for this event in either the City Events Unit budget or the Specified Reserve for Special Events.
1.3 The Development Committee was requested to decline the funding for the event based on the fact that the City Events budget for the period, nor the Specified Reserve for Special Events, has any finance earmarked for such a project. The Development Committee decided to support the event and request that the matter be referred to the Strategic Policy and Resources Committee to consider increasing the Development Department’s finances for events.
2. Key Issues
2.1 As part of the rate setting process, cash limits for standing committees are approved, based on the detailed financial estimates prepared by departments.
2.2 Proposals for growth in departmental budgets are considered as part of the rate setting process, within the context of the Council’s overall financial position and affordability and impact on the District Rate.
2.3 Where the in-year budget monitoring process indicates a forecast under spend position, then the Strategic Policy and Resources Committee may consider approving the release of some of these resources to fund non-recurring initiatives, projects or to meet external funding requests.
2.4 In previous years this approach has been used to approve non-recurring funding for the NI Hospice, Area Intervention Pilots, Boxing Strategy, and Advice Centres. In November 2012, the Strategic Policy and Resources Committee also approved the allocation of an additional £1.96m of finance to the Specified Reserve for Special Events (such as Giro d’ Italia, and Tall Ships) to supplement the Development Department’s annual events budget and to align resources to ensure that the burden on ratepayers is minimised for future years.
2.5 In considering requests for additional resources, the Strategic Policy and Resources Committee must assess the affordability of such requests and be assured that these are of a non-recurring nature.
2.6 The Circuit of Ireland proposal is for recurrent funding of an event for a three year period and has not been earmarked in either the annual events budget, or specified events reserve for the Development Department. For these reasons it was recommended to the Development Committee that the funding request should be declined.
2.7 Given these factors and that the Quarter 1 departmental position of the Council is forecasting an under spend which is within 0.4% of the annual budget, it is recommended that the Committee decline the funding request and refer the matter back to the Development Committee for further consideration in the context its own budget or their revenue estimate business growth proposals for 2014/15.
3. Resource Implications
Financial
The request for funding of the event is up to £25,000 per annum for the period 2014-16 requiring a total commitment of £75,000. Funding for the event has not been earmarked in either the Development Department’s events budget or the Specified Reserve for events.
4. Equality and Good Relations Implications
4.1 There are no equality or good relations implications associated with this report.
5. Recommendations
5.1 That the Committee decline the allocation of additional funding to the Development Department to fund this event and that the matter be referred back to the Development Committee.
6. Decision Tracking
The Director of Development will advise the Development Committee of the decision of the Strategic Policy and Resources Committee.”
After a lengthy discussion, the Committee agreed that the Council provide funding for the event but that, in the first instance, the matter be referred back to the Development Committee to allow it to examine its budgets to identify whether or not the necessary funding could be made available from that Committee. It was agreed also that a report be submitted to a future meeting of the Committee to identify how major and special events could be funded in the future.