Minutes of Meeting of the Highland and Western Isle Valuation Joint Board held in the Council Offices, Glenurquhart Road, Inverness on Wednesday, 9 January 2008 at 10.30 a.m.
Present
Representing The Highland Council
Mrs H Carmichael, Mr F D S Black, Mr P Cairns, Mr J S Gray, Ms M Smith
Representing Western Isles Council
Mr M MacLeod, Mr K Murray
Officials in attendance:
Mr D Gillespie, Assessor and Electoral Registration Officer
Mrs M Grigor, Treasurer’s Office
Mr A Bernard, Treasurer’s Office
Miss J Maclennan, Clerk’s Office
Mrs H Carmichael in the Chair
1. Apologies for Absence
An apology for absence was intimated on behalf of Mr J McGillivray, The Highland Council.
2. Minutes of Last Meeting
There had been circulated and were APPROVED Minutes of the Board Meeting of 21 November 2007.
3. Revenue Budget Monitoring Statement 2007/08
There had been circulated Report No VAL-01-08 comprising a statement on Revenue Expenditure and Income for the period to 30 November 2007. The report showed actual net expenditure of £1,635,000 as against anticipated expenditure for the period of £1,677,000, representing an underspend of £42,000. Although additional financial information had been gathered since the end of November and there was still a possibility of additional costs being incurred, an underspend at the end of the financial year was still anticipated which would be returned to the Constituent Authorities.
The Board NOTED the position.
4. Revenue Budget 2008/09
Mr M MacLeod declared a financial interest in relation to the debate which took place regarding second homes, as an owner of such a property, and took no part in discussion of that matter.
There had been circulated Report No VAL-2-08 by the Assessor and Electoral Registration Officer (ERO) comprising the draft estimates of expenditure and income for 2008/09 and a draft requisitions statement prepared jointly by the Assessor and ERO and the Treasurer. The requisitions statement, based on each Constituent Authority’s population as at 2006, represented an overall percentage decrease of 0.14% on the 2007/08 budget.
Speaking to his report the Assessor and ERO set out the current position of the department in relation to its main activities before commenting on the draft budget and highlighting particular points.
Arising from discussion, the implications of introducing some form of valuation associated with second homes in relation to the proposed introduction of a local income tax was highlighted. In advance of the proposed consultation a suggestion was made that there was merit, as a Board, in considering the advantages and disadvantages of the various options in relation to how they would work in Highland and the Western Isles. However, as there were other issues to be taken into consideration as part of the consultation, it was considered premature at this stage for the Board to form a view.
The Board AGREED:-
i. a revenue budget for 2008/09 of £2,618,520 as detailed in the report; and
ii. that the requisitions to be levied on each of the Constituent Authorities in
2007/08 be as follows:-
The Highland Council £2,333,003
Comhairle Nan Eilean Siar £285,517
Total £2,618,520
5. Departmental Report
There had been circulated Report No VAL-3-08 by the Assessor and Electoral Registration Officer (ERO) advising on the current position of the main activities of the Department. Since the previous meeting of the Board, the Department had been concerned with the publication of the new electoral register, clearance of revaluation appeals and maintenance of the Council Tax list. Particular attention was drawn to the recent success of a Graduate Trainee Valuer in passing the Assessment of Professional Competence of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors and the Board asked that its congratulations be expressed accordingly.
The Assessor and ERO also raised the proposed supplementary rate which proprietors and tenants of businesses could choose to pay towards city centre improvements through the creation of a Business Improvement District (BID). The overall cost to the department was estimated to be in the region of £600.
Thereafter, following discussion of specific elements of the report, the Board AGREED to vote for the BID and therefore pay the discretional rate towards city centre improvements should the scheme be approved and otherwise NOTED the report.
The meeting ended at 11.40 a.m.