Morecambe Town Council could spend an extra £20,000 on festivals, £10,000 on office equipment and £12,000 on staffing under plans revealed ahead of a meeting this week.
The funds would come from taxpayers' money carried over from last year's town council budget.
It has not yet been decided how to allocate the £52,292.64 underspend, but councillors will make the decision at Morecambe Town Hall this Thursday night (July 21).
A report released ahead of the meeting suggests that the money could be divided between festivals, staffing, office equipment and reserves.
The recommendations on how to spend the money are as follows:
Festivals, Sponsorships and Events £20,000
(Expenditure to be delegated to festivals and events committee)
The report says: "This committee has a budget of £60,000 for 2022-2023.
"So far, the committee/council has allocated up to £38,780 of this budget to supporting other festivals and events in the area, and there are likely to be further applications received for the duration of the financial year.
"The committee has also expended approximately £15,000 on scheduled events organised by the Town Council.
"Therefore, there are currently limited funds in this budget line to support the committee’s activities through to the next financial year."
Office Equipment - £10,000
(Expenditure to be delegated to Proper Officer)
The report says: "There is currently a lack of office equipment/telephones for the council’s growing team.
"The council has employed a new member of staff who requires additional software in order to undertake design work.
"The current budget is already allocated and would not accommodate the additional computers/software, desks, cabinets, chairs and telephones that need to be purchased."
The town council's proper officer is Luke Trevaskis.
General Reserves - £10,000
The report says: "The council has previously noted that the recommended typical minimum level of general reserves an authority should hold is 25 per cent of its annual budget (as advised in NALC (National Association of Local Councils)’s ‘The Good Councillor’s Guide to Finance and Transparency’).
"Currently the council has £40,000 in general reserves and £30,000 in earmarked reserves.
"Therefore, the current level of general reserves is only approximately 10 per cent of the council’s annual budget."
Staffing - £12,292.64
(Expenditure to be delegated to council's personnel committee)
The report says: "It has become apparent that at certain times during the year (in particular when the council hosts its own events) additional staffing resource may be required.
"Currently, staff are being redeployed during events, which means that other council activities are affected.
"This additional sum would assist the Personnel Committee in being able to determine any additional staffing resource that may be required."
The council set its 2022-2023 budget at £467,387.00, with additional reserves of £70,000.
It gathered a Council Tax precept of £425,250.45, a 49.8% year-on-year rise.
Related Story: Morecambe Town Council defends 49.8 per cent Council Tax rise - Beyond Radio
The report says: "At the time that the budget was set, the council anticipated a carry forward of £112,136.55.
"The actual carry forward to 2022-2023 was £164,429.19.
"This means there was an underspend of £52,292.64 that has not yet been allocated to a budget line in 2022-2023."
Also on the agenda for Thursday's meeting, councillors will look to fill the vacant seats in Harbour ward and Lowlands Road ward on the town council.
These seats became vacant following the deaths of councillors Janice Hanson and Shirley Burns earlier this year.
Councillors will "consider letters of interest and agree to co-opt two applicants".
Co-option would enable the town council to vote new councillors in themselves, but can only happen if candidates aren't put up for election by the required 10 members of the electorate.
Councillors will also decide who will be on the town council's Festivals, Sponsorship and Events committee.
This committee, made up of town councillors, decides how to spend taxpayers' money on awarding grants to Morecambe festivals and events.
At a town council meeting earlier this month, councillors agreed to review the committee, and to defer a decision on who will be on it.
Related Story: Delight as Morecambe festivals awarded funding after town council U-turn - Beyond Radio
There will also be confidential talks on the future of the former Frontierland theme park site in Morecambe.
Members of the public and media will be excluded from this part of the meeting, as discussions could cover "exempt information" under the Local Government Act.
The meeting starts at 7pm and the other items on the agenda will be open to the public.
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