Issue - meetings

The Committee considered the report of the Director of Finance and Business Improvement concerning the establishment of an acceptable minimum level of reserves to be held going forward to meet ongoing commitments and unexpected events.

The Senior Finance Manager (Client) advised the Committee that:

·  In recent years the financial resources of the Charity had been under considerable pressure mainly due to the reduction in the value of the Golf Course contract and the opening of the Visitor Centre/Café which had been operating at a loss to date.  However, the financial position of the Charity was now starting to improve and over the next ten years, it was projected that surpluses totalling £1.4m could be generated.  These surpluses could be set aside in order to:

1.  Establish sufficient funds for ongoing equipment replacement and capital expenditure;

2.  Re-invest in the permanent endowment to replace the funds withdrawn to fund the Master Plan; and

3.  Have sufficient funds in place to meet the costs of unexpected events.

·  A draft five year capital programme had been drawn up which indicated that around £0.4m would need to be allocated for a number of schemes, the most significant being the redesign and resurfacing of the car park at the Manor Park.

·  It was proposed that a further report be brought back to a future meeting of the Committee to enable decisions to be made regarding the establishment of reserves and the amounts to be set aside to cover the three areas identified above.

In response to questions, the Officers confirmed that the contract for the operation and management of the Kent Life attraction and the new Golf Course contract included directors’ guarantees or performance bonds which protected the Charity’s position.  The Senior Finance Manager (Client) undertook to provide details of rechargeable costs, including management costs, as a separate line in the financial projections for the Cobtree Manor Park.

RESOLVED:  That the report be noted and that a further report be submitted to a future meeting of the Committee regarding the establishment of reserves and the allocation of reserves for specific purposes.