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Hierarchy Browser Number8001/1/2/9
TitleFinance Committee
DescriptionA permanent Finance Committee was established in 1836 after the appointment of the council - the first to be elected after the Representation of the People Act 1832 (Reform Act) that extended voting rights - discovered discrepancies in the old accounts. Its remit was to maintain an accurate balance sheet, publish accounts annually, reduce frivolous expenditure and to generally oversee the income and expenditure of the council.

The Council discovered that previous Corporation had run up significant debts that did not appear in the accounts. The official statement of account showed a credit balance of £1028 2s 5d, whereas an initial examination revealed a deficit of £1111 15s 10d. As well as omitting expenses, the Corporation had grossly under-represented the true amounts paid, for instance some of the officers received more than double the official salary recorded in the books. One of the committee's first tasks was to investigate the true state of the city's finances, and to sell off the contents of the Corporation's wine celler.

The committee's duties were to monitor the financial affairs of the Council, preparation of estimates and assessments and to collect the rates. Increasingly, it focussed on the upper-level financial management as other committeess took responsibility for costing works and equipment. By the twentieth century, the finance committee was primarily involved in managing the mortgages, stocks and loans in which the Corporation had an interest, managing the salaries and superannuation schemes for the staff, and ensuring the rates, taxes and various licences were collected.
Date1836-1949
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