Westport town councillors voiced their discontent with the recommendation to scrap town councils as they discussed the local government efficiency review report at their meeting last week.
Cllr Myles Staunton said it would be a “dreadful future” for Westport without the town council, and he complained that Westport is being “tarred with the same brush” as other town councils, when individual councils should be examined separately, as Westport Town Council’s “finances are in good shape”. The Fine Gael councillor said the main powers of councillors to set the rate and decide on budgets will be taken away and instead local taxpayers will pay towards a general county council “kitty”, with this money then spent in other areas instead of in the town.
Cllr Martin Keane said it would be “a disaster”, while Cllr Keith Martin said that in the past Minister John Gormley had given commitments to empower local government and this latest move “flies in the face of these commitments”.
Cllr Ollie Gannon said that to lose the town council would be detrimental to the town while Cllr Brendan Mulroy said that all senior members of all parties need to get on board and “beat the drum a bit louder”. His Fianna Fáil colleague, Cllr Margaret Adams, said that she has long been an advocate of the town council and is concerned that if the measure were to come into effect, staff would be redeployed. There would also be repercussions as to the use of the convent in Westport, which was purchased for the intention of using it as town council offices, Cllr Adam pointed out.
Cathaoirleach of the council, Cllr Tereasa McGuire, said that the proposal was a measure of “belittling local government” and she urged councillors to “stay focused and be vocal”, with the message to go out to the community at large that if they want a town council the town council needs to be saved.
