€320k 2022 GMA agreed for Shannon

A SUM of €318,250 is available for discretionary spending by the Councillors of the Shannon Municipal District in 2022.

The councillors held a special meeting on Monday, and in a document sent to the members in advance, County Council chief executive Pat Dowling said that the level of funding next year would be similar to 2021.

“The Local Government Reform Act 2014 and its related regulations set out various matters in relation to Municipal Districts. This includes the General Municipal Allocation (GMA) which is defined as the discretionary funding available to the municipal district members for allocation in the draft budgetary plan.

“In determining the General Municipal Allocation for the municipal districts, the chief executive has considered the overall income available to the Council and the budget strategy discussions to date with the Corporate Policy Group.

“The General Municipal Allocation formed a large part of the Local Property Tax income deliberations of the Council bringing the total 2022 Budget to €1,273,000.

“The allocation will be split evenly by number of elected members in each municipal district. Therefore the proposed General Municipal Allocation for the Shannon Municipal District is €318,250.”

Independent Councillor Gerry Flynn said he was happy with the levels. He said that the GMA has resulted in “tremendous work” being done for local communities.

Fine Gael’s John Crowe said that in many cases the property tax is almost seen as a dirty word, but one positive thing coming from it is the GMA, which he said means extra funds for each municipal district.

Councillor Crowe said that people can see the benefit that comes from it, and that the funding comes from the property tax.
Independent PJ Ryan said he was happy that the “status quo” will continue into 2022. He said that wonderful work has been done in communities already and that it will continue in the year ahead.