Clever Town Council budgeting avoids imposing rates hike

Members were briefed by the executive in a private meeting in December, at which point there was a deficit of about €35,000 which was making an increase in rates look likely. They say they went through the estimate in detail after which the executive went through figures again in the hope of being able to come back to them with a budget that wouldn't require a rate increase. "It will be good news for the business people of the town," said Cllr Andrew Boylan. Cllr Terry Argue agreed that it is great to maintain rather than increase the rate, adding that "business is tight as everyone knows and businesses are the lifeblood of the town". Cllr Des Cullen noted that "a lot was taken out of the pot" with decreases in income including the Local Government Fund and VAT on parking and he commended the executive on producing a budget that allowed services to be maintained and the commercial rate to remain the same as the previous three years despite that. "Budgets are now much more difficult than when times were good," noted Cllr Cullen. "We all know that businesses are getting it hard. At least this gives them some chance to stay in business," added Cllr Patricia Walsh. Cllr Brian McKeown also welcomed the absence of an increase in rates, but wondered "where the blame lies" in terms of why the Local Government Fund should have to be reduced. "What can you do but congratulate [the executive] for presenting the budget as fairly as they could," concluded Cllr McKeown. "Ratepayers will be delighted there's no hike," said Cllr Jacqui Lewis. Chairman Paddy O'Reilly agreed, thanking Brian Hora for his hard work in balancing the books. "I'm delighted we can keep the rate at the same figure again," he said. For a range of stories from Cavan Town Council's budget meeting, see this week's Anglo-Celt.