A Special Meeting of The Highland Council will take place in the Council Chamber, Council Headquarters, Glenurquhart Road, Inverness on Thursday, 1 February 2007 at 10.30am.

 

You are invited to attend the meeting and a note of the business to be considered is attached.

 

Yours faithfully,

 

Alistair B Dodds

Director of Corporate Services

 

Declarations of Interest – Members are asked to consider whether they have an interest to declare in relation to any item on the agenda for this meeting. Any Member making a declaration of interest should indicate whether it is a financial or non-financial interest and include some information on the nature of the interest. Advice may be sought from Officers prior to the meeting taking place.

 

 

1.           Calling of the Roll and Apologies for Absence

 

2.           Revenue Budget 2007/08 

 

There is circulated Report No. HC-62-06  dated 24 January 2007 by the Director of Finance which sets out the Budget Working Group’s recommendations on the Revenue Budget for 2007/08.

 

The Council will be asked to consider the Council Tax for 2007/08 on 8 February 2006.   

 

Members are asked to:-

 

(a)    agree a revenue budget for 2007/08 of £516.839m as set out within the report, Appendices 1-3 and Booklets A-C;

 

(b)    note the difficult financial prospects facing the Council over the longer term and the need to retain balances and ensure that there is a strict budget monitoring process in place to ensure delivery of the budget (Section 6);

 

(c)    note the proposed use of Scottish Executive additional funding contained within the budget recommendation (Paragraph 5.13);

 

(d)    note the level of planned cash releasing efficiency savings (£7.164m) assumed within the budget and which exceed the Scottish Executive’s target of £2.559m (Paragraphs 5.17 and 5.18)

 

(e)    agree that £2m provision for a Service Improvement Fund is held in contingency pending the resolution of outstanding issues, including job evaluation and a review of charges to the HRA (Paragraph 5.12); and

 

(f)      note that the Budget Scrutiny Group will meet during Spring 2007 to discuss in detail the following areas of activity: Payments to the Voluntary Sector, Joint Committee for Children and Young People  budget and the Community Care budget.

 

In this connection, there are also circulated:-

 

                                                                                                                                      

3.           Appointments to Outside Bodies: Standards Commission for 
        Scotland: Dispensation