VIDEO: Warrington Borough Council’s Chief Executive Steven Broomhead says he expects the council’s accounts to be signed off early in the New Year.
Mr Broomhead says he fully expects the accounts to be “resolved in early 2020” and signed off by the council’s auditors.
“There were objections from an individual about the accounts which were very comprehensive objections, ones which have to be considered by the council’s auditors,” said Mr Broomhead.
“They were specific regarding Redwood Bank and it has had to go through as long bureaucratic process.”
He doesn’t see the fact that the accounts have not been signed off as a major problem, with around 40 per cent of local authorities around the country not having accounts signed off.
Mr Broomhead believes the investment by Warrington Borough Council in Redwood Bank was a good one, although it has still not made a return.
He says the council has had to make some long term investments to help protect front line services during times of austerity.
“The council has taken some risks but with no major problems, ” he added.
Meanwhile Mr Broomhead says he hopes to seer the town’s two new MPs, Ande Carter (Conservative) and Charlotte Nichols (Labour) working together “to move things forward in a positive way.”
He also expects to see the long awaited Local Plan published next year, although due to the amount of work involved, is unable to give an exact timescale.
While there is plenty to be positive with the new Time Square development with a new town centre cinema and new Botanist restaurant, he accepts more needs to be done to improve the entrance to the town, especially on lower Bridge Street.
As Deputy Chairman of Warrington Wolves, he expects 2020 to be a big year for the club, bringing more silverware to the town.
Steven Broomhead Christmas interview 2019
2 Comments
OK I’ve finally stopped laughing at the header title saying ‘Council accounts set to be signed off in the new year’ with an image showing Mr Broomhead sat with an Elf….I thought for one minute the Elf was the one finally signing off the accounts….mmm maybe he will be ha ha.
Anyway…… surely if the Councils accounts are not signed off in time they will get fined and if it’s the same as other companies accounts I believe if you are late 2 years in a row your fine doubles. Guess the council aren’t too bothered though and need to get their figures right with no comeback 😉
Redwood Bank is one of a large number of investments by WBC. We (the people of this town) need to see:
– how much has been invested in each case
– the date of the initial investment
– the interest we’re paying out on the loan
– any income – broken down by year
– any other outgoings
– any independent valuations which have been undertaken of the assets concerned
– a redacted risk log for each investment (redacted to take account of reasonable commercial confidentiality)
At this point we will know whether we should be concerned. Any chance this could be done before May?