No reduction in rates for businesses

THE burden of rates on Clare businesses is not going to be reduced in 2013, following the adoption of a budget by Clare County Council on Tuesday.
County manager Tom Coughlan claimed it hasn’t been possible to reduce the charges and he told the meeting of the impact a cut in rates would have on the council’s coffers.
“If there was a reduction in rates of 10%, it would mean a reduction of €3.6 million in income to Clare County Council,” he claimed at the budget meeting.
He said if this course was taken, the first thing that would have to be done would be to identify where expenditure could be reduced by the same amount.
Mr Coughlan also said a blanket reduction would benefit some businesses disproportionately. “The second point is that of that €3.6m reduction in rates, over €2m would go to 13 ratepayers. That is the impact. The 2,107 ratepayers left would share the €1.6m.”
Trying to maintain services despite a collapse in resources is a challenge for Clare County Council, the county manager claimed, while he said in the future the council will have to look at “more radical” ways of saving money, such as using debt collection units and centralised procurement units.
In the overview to the budget, Mr Coughlan outlined how the council’s finances have declined since the onset of the recession.
“The Department of Environment, Community and Local Government has advised Clare County Council that the local government fund allocation for 2013 is €10.07m, a reduction of 1.02% on the initial allocation for 2012. The level of reduction in the general fund for 2013 is significantly less than recent years, as the council’s allocation from the fund has reduced by 39% since 2008 from €16.48m to €10.07m.
“In previous years, the council has received additional local government funding for water services. The allocation to be received from this fund will not be notified to the council until 2013. An amount of €125k has been included in the budget, which represents a €175k reduction on the amount included in the 2012 budget.”
Mr Coughlan claimed payroll costs have fallen by more than €9m, more than 20% since 2009, while he stated that overall, staff numbers will fall below 800 next year, compared to more than 1,000 in 2006. He commended the council’s staff on their “continuing dedication” to providing services in difficult times.
Later in the meeting, Shannon Councillor Gerry Flynn called for a 5% decrease in the charges.
“I have a problem with the budget. Limerick is proposing a 5% reduction in rates,” he said. “I don’t believe large business should be used as a stick to beat small business.” The independent councillor then called for a 5% decrease in rates in Clare.
“Limerick framed their budget with jobs in mind. Can we say this?” he asked.
Mr Coughlan responded, saying Limerick City received an increase of 3.7% in its Local Government Fund, compared to a 1% drop in Clare’s allocation.
“It should be noted that the allocation from the general fund of the Department of Environment, Community and Local Government to the council has been reduced by circa 1%, compared to the allocation for 2012. By comparison, the allocation to Limerick City Council from the same fund for 2013 was increased by 3.7%.
“This difference in allocation had a significant impact on the level of resources available to the councils in framing budgets for 2013. Furthermore, the reduction in rates in Limerick City proposed for 2013 is a measure aimed at bringing the rate level in the city area into line with the rate level in Limerick County area as part of the ongoing amalgamation process,” Mr Coughlan stated after the meeting.