A 1 per cent hike in commercial rates has been confirmed by Westmeath County Council for 2009, which is set to generate €80,000 for the county.
The decision was taken by councillors at Thursday’s Budget meeting, when they rejected the council’s proposal to increase rates by a more substantial 2 per cent.
The decision to increase rates comes in spite of recent calls from local chambers of commerce to ensure rates are left unchanged.
President of Athlone Chamber, Aengus O’Rourke, said last week that any increase in rates would be the “final straw” for businesses already struggling with rising costs and decreasing turnovers.
According to county manager Dan McLoughlin, a number of “budgetary adjustments” have been made in Budget 2009 in order to make it possible to sustain worthwhile programmes.
Some 25 contract staff will not have their contracts renewed in order to achieve the 3 per cent payroll saving initiated by the Government. In addition, it will not be possible to fill a further 12 to 15 vacancies which have already arisen, or will arise during the year. The saving under this heading is approximately €1 million.
Where Westmeath County Council had been hopeful to roll out a Brown Bin scheme throughout the county, this will not now be possible as it would cost an additional €500,000.
It has not been possible to maintain a Housing Maintenance Crew to deal with vacant council houses and major repairs; however the impact of this is said to be lessened by the rolling over of the 2008 programme into next year.
The additional cost of public lighting has made the provision of new lights difficult to fund, resulting in the programme being suspended with a saving of €125,000.
A 50 per cent reduction is planned in the area of advertising, printing, and stationery, with a targeted saving of €170,000. This will be achieved in particular with increased use of the internet for advertising.
Overall, expenditure allocations have been maintained at 2008 level as far as possible, and where reductions were necessary they were kept to a minimum.
Introducing Budget 2009, county manager Daniel McLoughlin reminded councillors of the context of the figures.
“Members are well aware of the economic backdrop to the preparation of the current budget, and the impact this has in the context of the administration of services that are heavily dependent on central funding and local revenue generating capacity, which itself is directly related to economic activity,” he remarked.
“Notwithstanding the current financial crisis, local authorities have been, and continue to be, involved in programmes of infrastructural development and expanded service provision which carry a significant additional financial burden.”
