At last night's Hadleigh Town Council meeting, councillors failed to agree a final budget for the next financial year as councillors criticized some of the reported figures as "useless" and "misleading".

The budget report was written by the council's Responsible Finance Officer (RFO) (also the council's Projects Officer) Alicja Barnes, who was not at the meeting.

It emerged that the new Layham Road sports pavilion the council approved earlier this week is estimated to cost more than £900,000 (including the £120,000 loan interest repayments). Approximately £240,000 of funding expected to come from external grants and donations, the rest from council funds.

The RFO's proposed budget had a net deficit, despite a depletion in the council's reserves to below the recommended minimum of three months' of council operating costs. The RFO recommended a precept (council tax) rise of 3%.

Councillor Gower criticised the council's quarterly financial reports as "useless" because they did not contain a usable forecast and produced "meaningless" variances.

Councillor Beggerow was concerned that the £120,000 loan was included in the budget under the heading "grants and sponsors – new pavilion" He added: "I have to say I find this a misleading way to present loan income. Firstly because it conceals the fact that there is £120,00 loan income… but it also misleads… on what is the real budget for grants and sponsors, which is actually £243,000 and not £363,000."

Councillor Beggerow said he could not support the budget as proposed, and said the council should produce a break-even budget. The RFO's report said that if a break-even budget were to be designed, the precept would need to be increased by 10%.

"I find that rather a concerning comment to make", Councillor Beggerow said. "It's arithmetically correct of course but, in my view, councillors should reminded, or indeed encouraged, to look at other ways to produce a balanced budget other than simply increasing the precept beyond the 3% recommended, which is a level that I support."

"Councils up and down the country are having to make difficult decisions to balance their budgets. It seems to me that the version three unbalanced budget, if approved, is going to send a message to Hadleigh taxpayers that this council is content to deplete its reserves to beyond the occasional big hit that will arise, for example, building a new sports pavilion.

"The RFO acknowledges the budgeted reserves, even after a borrowing of £120,000, will be below the general guidance, building them back up over a number of years. This strategy in my view will be interpreted as kicking the inevitable need to recover the situation down the road, rather than addressing it now with a balanced budget."

Councillor Gower said: "The consequences of voting through the Layham Road sports pavilion is a reduction in reserves of £465,000. However, we seem to be showing no restraint on spending.

"Even those reductions which have been budgeted for will be extremely difficult to live up to. For example, the repairs to play areas has been reduced from a potential £8,648 down to £1,000. So I anticipate some overspending."

Less will be spent on play area (Picture: Nub News)

"In the comments to the budget it is stated that instead of a 10% increase in the precept there is a preference for, and I quote, "rather a slow build up in fund again over time allowing for the small depletion this year".

"The so called "small depletion" is after the exclusion of special project expenditure which of itself is close to half a million pounds, and will have severe impact on the council's reserves."

"But we continue to spend as if nothing has happened, and we even budget for a net deficit. So how long is going to take for this "slow build-up of funds"?

"Where exactly is the money for this slow build up of funds coming from, given that, even without special projects, we are overspending on a consistent basis?"

"In effect we are saying that we will have to over-budget in future years in order to create surpluses with which to repay loans and rebuild our reserves. The bottom line is that we are spending money we do not have and are storing up financial problems for the future."

The Mayor, Gordon McLeod, was absent from the meeting, as were councillors Minns, Taylor and Wright.

Mayor Gordon McLeod missed importnat budget decision (Picture: Nub News)

A wide range of possible cost savings were discussed, including cuts to the Guildhall grant, the Youth Strategy, and Hadleigh In Bloom. However, councillors could not reach agreement on what cuts to make. There was agreement, however, that the budget should be redrafted to be closer to breaking-even.

The council passed a motion to: "approve v3 of the budget 2024/25 subject to review to a near break-even budget, becoming v4. Councillors to suggest savings by email. Final decision by the RFO and Town Clerk."

The council appeared to delegate authority for the final decision on the budget to council staff.

The council then agreed to the Finance Officer's recommended precept rise of 3%.

Meanwhile, at the same meeting, the council agreed to a £3,000 grant to Hadleigh Rugby Club to support the formation of a Ladies team - the Hadleigh Ewes.