HYTHE TOWN COUNCIL FINANCIAL REGULATIONS
1. GENERAL
1.1 These financial regulations shall govern the conduct of the financial transaction of the Council and may only be amended or varied by resolution of the Council.
1.2 The Responsible Financial Officer (RFO) under the policy direction of the Finance & General Purposes Committee (F & G P Committee) shall be responsible for the proper administration of the Council's financial affairs.
1.3 The RFO shall be responsible for the production of financial management information.
2. ANNUAL ESTIMATES
2.1 Each Committee shall, through the RFO, submit proposals to the F & G P Committee in respect of revenue services and capital projects for inclusion in the rolling capital programme. The RFO shall receive such estimates not later than the 30th September each year.
2.2 Detailed estimates of income and expenditure on revenue services and receipts and payments on capital account shall be prepared each year by the RFO.
2.3 The F & G P Committee shall review the estimates and submit them to full Council for its approval not later than the end of December in each year and shall recommend the precept to be levied for the ensuing financial year. The RFO shall supply each member with a copy of the approved estimates.
2.4 The annual capital and revenue budgets shall form the basis of financial control for the ensuing fiscal year.
3. BUDGETARY CONTROL
3.1 Expenditure on the revenue account may be incurred up to the amounts included in each approved budgetary item.
3.2 No expenditure may be incurred which cannot be met from the amount provided in the appropriate revenue / capital budgetary item unless a virement has been approved by the F & G P Committee or the Council.
3.3 All transfers of monies from capital to revenue or vice versa shall be undertaken with approval of the F & GP Committee by means of a resolved minute of Council, a coding reference and the authorisation stamp of the Town Clerk.
3.4 The RFO shall periodically provide the F & G P Committee with a statement of income and expenditure to date under each head of the approved annual revenue and capital budgets.
3.5 The Town Clerk may incur expenditure on behalf of the Council which is necessary to carry out any repair replacement or other work which is of such extreme urgency that it must be done at once, whether or not there is any budgetary provision for the expenditure, subject to a limit of £1,000.00. The Town Clerk shall report the action to the appropriate Committee as soon as practicable thereafter.
3.6 The Town Clerk may incur expenditure on behalf of the Council for normative approved budgeted items up to a maximum of £1,000.00.
3.7 Where expenditure is incurred in accordance with Regulation 3.5 above and the
sum required cannot be met from savings made elsewhere within that
Committee's approved budget, it shall be the subject of a supplementary estimate or met from contingency as approved by the F & GP Committee or by Council.
3.8 Unspent provisions in the revenue budget shall be carried forward to a subsequent year.
3.9 No expenditure shall be incurred in relation to any capital project and no contract
entered into or tender accepted involving expenditure on capital account unless the F & G P Committee is satisfied that it is contained in the rolling capital programme and that the necessary capital funds are available, or the requisite borrowing approval can be obtained.
3.10 All works shall be administered in accordance with the Council's Standing Orders
and Financial Regulations relating to contracts (Standing Order 54).
4. ACCOUNTING AND AUDIT
4.1 All accounting procedures and financial records of the Council shall be determined by the RFO as required by the Accounts and Audit Regulations 2003.
4.2 The RFO shall be responsible for completing the annual accounts of the Council as soon as practicable after the end of the financial year and shall submit them to and report thereon to the F & G P Committee. The accounts must be approved by Council prior to the 30th June in the year following the accounting period to which they relate.
4.3 The RFO shall be responsible for maintaining an adequate and effective system of
internal audit of the Council's accounting, financial and other operations in accordance with Regulations 4 & 6 of the Accounts and Audit Regulations 2003. Any officer or member of the Council shall, if the RFO requires, makes available such documents of the Council which relate to their accounting and other records as appear to the RFO to be necessary for the purpose of the audit and shall supply the RFO with such information and explanation as the RFO considers necessary for that purpose.
5. BANKING ARRANGEMENTS AND CHEQUES
5.1 The Council's banking arrangements shall be made by the RFO and approved by the F & G P Committee.
5.2 A schedule of the payment of money shall be prepared by the RFO and together with the relevant invoices etc presented to the F & G P Committee. If the schedule is in order it shall be authorised by a resolution of that Committee.
5.3 Cheques drawn in the bank accounts in accordance with the schedule referred to in the previous paragraph shall be signed by two Members of the Council.
6. PAYMENT OF ACCOUNTS
6.1 Apart from petty cash payments all payments shall be effected by cheque drawn on the Council's bankers.
6.2 All invoices for payment shall be examined, verified certified and authorised for payment by the RFO. Before certifying an invoice the RFO shall be satisfied that the work, goods or services to which the invoice related have been received, carried out, examined and approved.
6.3 The RFO shall examine invoices in relation to arithmetical accuracy and authorisation. She shall take all possible steps to settle all invoices submitted, and which are in order, within 30 days of their receipt.
6.4 When the RFO is satisfied that invoices are in order she shall pass them to the Finance Clerk for final processing.
6.5 All duly certified invoices will then be entered on the schedule referred to in 5.2 above.
6.6 The RFO may provide petty cash for the purpose of defraying operational and other expenses. Vouchers for payments made shall be forwarded to the Finance Clerk with a claim for reimbursement.
(a) The RFO shall maintain a petty cash float limit of £150 for the purpose of
defraying operational and other expenses. Vouchers for payments made from petty cash shall be kept to substantiate the payments.
(b) Income received must not be paid into the petty cash float but must be
separately banked, as provided elsewhere in these regulations.
(c) Payments to maintain the petty cash float shall be shown separately on the
schedule of the payments presented to the F & G P Committee (under 5.2 above).
7. PAYMENT OF SALARIES AND WAGES
7.1 The payment of all salaries and wages shall be made by the RFO in accordance with the payroll records.
7.2 All times sheets shall be certified as to accuracy by or on behalf of the Finance Clerk.
8. LOANS AND INVESTMENTS
8.1 All loans and investments shall be negotiated by the RFO in the name of the Council and shall be for a set period of time in accordance with Council policy. Proposed changes to loans and investments should be reported to the F & G P Committee at the earliest opportunity for approval prior to implementation.
8.2 All investments of money under the control of the Council shall be in the name of the Council.
8.3 All borrowings shall be effected in the name of the Council and shall be subject to and in accordance with statutory regulations governing such borrowings.
8.4 All investment certificates and other documents relating thereto shall be retained in the custody of the RFO.
9. INCOME
9.1 The collection of all sums due to the Council shall be the responsibility of and under the supervision of the RFO.
9.2 Particulars of all charges to be made for work done, services rendered or goods
supplied shall be notified to the RFO and the RFO shall be ultimately responsible for the collection of all accounts due to the Council.
9.3 The Council will review all fees and charges annually, following a report of the Town Clerk.
9.4 Any bad debts shall be reported to the F & G P Committee.
9.5 All sums received on behalf of the Council shall either be paid to the RFO for banking or be banked by the officer collecting the money as directed by the RFO. In all cases all receipts shall be deposited with the Council's bankers with such frequency as the RFO considered necessary and in any event as soon as practicable.
9.6 A reference to the related debt, or otherwise, indicating the origin of each cheque, shall be entered on the paying-in slip.
9.7 Any transfer of official money from one member of staff to another shall be signed for by the receiving officer.
9.8 Personal cheques shall not be cashed out of money held on behalf of the Council.
9.9 Petty cash payments up to the value of £150.00 may be made payable to an authorised member of staff, in line with bank mandatory arrangements.
10. ORDER FOR WORK, GOODS AND SERVICES
10.1 An official order shall be issued for all work, goods and services unless a
formal contract is to be prepared or an official order would be inappropriate eg petty cash purchases. Copies of orders issued shall be maintained.
10.2 Order books shall be controlled by the RFO.
10.3 All officers are responsible for obtaining value for money at all times. An officer
issuing an official order is to ensure as far as reasonable and practicable that the best available terms are obtained in respect of each transaction.
11. CONTRACTS
11.1 Procedures as to the contracts are laid down in the Council's Standing Order No 73.
(a) Every contract whether made by the Council or by a Committee to which the power of making contracts has been delegated shall comply with the Council’s Standing Orders. No exception from any of the provisions of Standing Orders shall be made otherwise than by direction of the Council or in an emergency by such a Committee as aforesaid provided that the Standing Orders shall not apply to contracts which relate to those items as specified in Standing Order No 73 (2).
12. PAYMENTS UNDER CONTRACTS FOR BUILDING OR OTHER
CONSTRUCTION WORKS
12.1 Payments on account of the contract sum shall be made within the time specified in the contract by the RFO upon authorised certificates of the architect or other Contract Administrator engaged to supervise the contract. Should the RFO consider such an interim payment inappropriate, she will refer the matter to the Finance & General Purposes Committee.
12.2 Where contracts provide for payment by instalment the RFO shall maintain a record of all such payments. In any case when it is estimated that the total cost of work carried out under a contract, excluding fluctuation clauses, will exceed the contract sum a report shall be submitted to the appropriate Committee.
12.3 Any variation to a contract or addition to or omission from a contract must be approved by the Town Clerk in writing, the appropriate Committee being informed where the final cost is likely to exceed the financial provision.
13. PROPERTIES AND ESTATES
13.1 The Town Clerk shall make appropriate arrangements for the custody of all title deeds of properties owned by the Council. The RFO shall ensure a record is maintained of all properties and assets owned by the Council, recording the location, extent, plan, reference, purchase details, nature of the interest, tenancies granted, rents payable and the purpose for which held in accordance with Regulation 5(3)(b) of the Accounts and Audit Regulations 2003.
13.2 No property shall be sold, leased or otherwise disposed of without the authority of the Council, save where the estimated value of any one item does not exceed £1,000.
14. INSURANCE
14.1 The RFO shall effect all insurance and negotiate all claims on the Council's insurers in consultation with the Finance Clerk.
14.2 The Finance Clerk shall give prompt notification to the RFO of all new risks, properties or vehicles which require to be insured and of any alterations affecting existing insurances.
14.3 The RFO shall keep a record of all insurance effected by the Council and the property and risks covered thereby and annually review it.
14.4 The RFO shall be notified of any loss liability or damage or of any event likely to lead to a claim.
14.5 All appropriate employees of the Council shall be included in a suitable fidelity
guarantee insurance.
15. REVISION OF FINANCIAL REGULATIONS
15.1 It shall be the duty of the RFO to review the financial regulations of the Council from time to time and to make such recommendations to the Standing Orders Committee and the Council as the RFO considers are required.