No increase in council rates

AFTER what was deemed a “bloodless” meeting, Clare County Council adopted its 2011 budget on Tuesday evening.

The council’s Local Government Fund Allocation for 2011 is €12.7 million, down by 8.9% on the 2010 equivalent, while rates will not be increasing.
While the amount coming from the Local Government Fund is lower, in his presentation county manager, Tom Coughlan said the hit on Clare for 2011 is less than it was in other years.
“Historically, Clare County Council has suffered the most severe reductions on a national comparative basis in the Local Government Fund. The Local Government Fund notified for 2011 represents a major improvement on this historical practice and now firmly places Clare County Council at the midpoint in the level of reductions nationally.”
However, Mr Coughlan didn’t seek to minimise the financial challenges facing the council, noting that it is difficult to maintain levels of services “with severely reduced resources, particularly human resources”.
Things are likely to get even tighter, he added. “The response of national government to the current financial difficulties includes further reductions in the levels of public service employment and despite the fact that Clare County Council has already reduced staffing numbers by 150, it is clear that further reductions must be achieved by Clare County Council in the short term. This will require a review of structures and levels of service delivery to achieve even greater efficiencies and economies.”
Mr Coughlan said he wished to compliment the council’s staff and that there had been major changes in payroll.
“The payroll budget, both revenue and capital, for 2011 provides for a €3.4m reduction in payroll costs over 2010 levels, €6.8m over the last two years. Total payroll budget is now below 2006 levels.”
With regard to rates, he said there would not be an increase and that the local authority is sensitive to difficulties facing businesses.
“Clare County Council is acutely aware of the commercial difficulties which our rate payers are experiencing due to the economic downturn. The council has a practical approach in terms of payment plans and facilitating rate payers, including the hospitality sector.”
Water charges are to be cut. “The budget shows that savings have been made for the second year running in the costs of providing water services in the county and I propose to reduce the charge for water supply in 2011 by 3.1% from €1.29 to €1.24 per cubic meter. A litre of water will cost 0.0012 cent.”
Mayor of Clare Christy Curtin said that this year, the county has not been one of the biggest losers of funding from central government and he said he appreciated the input of Minister Tony Killeen. He also praised the work of Councillor Brian Meaney, who he said had “acted in the best interests of the county”.
A number of members praised the work of the council’s finance team, whom they said had done outstanding work to prepare the budget in very difficult circumstances.
There was some criticism from the councillors of the perceived high expenditure on Traveller accommodation. In the draft it was stated, “Maintenance expenditure in Traveller accommodation continues at a disproportionate level, with high incidences of vandalism and damage having to be repaired”.
A number of figures were provided and it was shown that by the end of December, the council will have spent in the region of €440,000 on maintenance of Traveller accommodation units in 12 months.
Councillor James Breen said the expenditure seemed very high and said only Travellers indigenous to Clare should be provided for by the local authority.
“Anyone who comes in from outside the county should be told to go back where they came from.”
Councillor Joe Arkins was also critical of the high spending and said it had to be realised that while people have rights, these are balanced by responsibilities.
Mr Coughlan said while the level of costs is high, the amount this year is set to drop significantly and some money is set to be recouped from the department.
Dog fouling was another matter that raised the ire of some of the members, as the finer points of the budget were worked through.
Councillor Breen said there is a “despicable” amount of dog fouling at the pier in Lahinch. “I’m appealing to people, if your dog poops; scoop.”
He added, “If you love your dog, you should love it enough to look after it”.
While discussing the environment, members heard that recycling charges are going up, due to the impact of VAT legislation.
Green party representative Brian Meaney said he is completely opposed to the increase and following on from Councillor Breen’s comments about Lahinch, said that a better source of funding would be imposing fines on people whose dogs defecate publicly.
He said that he had walked to the Cathedral earlier in the day and that there was “€15,000 worth of dog pooh” on sight during his route.
Councillor Meaney said taking money from people engaged in negative behaviour is far better than taking it from people who are trying to be responsible by recycling.
The Green Party representative said that failing to fine people whose dogs foul pavements is indicative of a trend where regulations are introduced but not enforced.
However, Councillor Joe Arkins said that Councillor Meaney’s claims are “quite simplistic” as he has not taken into the account the likely costs of policing and administration.
“If there was that much profit there, I’m sure Minister Gormley would have provided grant aid,” he commented.