Council approves 2.66 per cent rates rise

6 February 2017

NEWRY, Mourne and Down Council has agreed to increase the district rate by 2.66 per cent.

The inflation busting rise to finance the local authority’s £52m budget was agreed at a meeting in Downpatrick on Monday night, with politicians admitting the increase could have been higher if budgets across a range of departments had not been trimmed.

Councillors were told the 2017/18 budget, which is one per cent above inflation, has been prepared on the assumption that an annual grant of £2m paid by Stormont will eventually be made available following the forthcoming Assembly election.

Council chief executive, Mr Liam Hannaway, said in the event of the Stormont grant not being paid, the £2m would be taken out of the local authority’s financial reserves to ensure there would be no change in the budget.

The 2.66 per cent increase was proposed by the DUP’s Garth Craig who admitted every councillor would like to have seen a lower increase.

“We have to be realistic,” he said. “We have a very large and ambitious capital programme which impacts on every single district electoral area within the council. We have some very important projects which will improve the health and well-being of all our citizens. Money is also being spent on environmental projects to increase recycling rates and strategic tourist projects. This is a budget for the future,” he added.

SDLP councillor, Peter Burns, thanked council officers for their work in delivering two per cent savings across their respective directorates, but warned it is important the large capital development programme does not result in a spike in the rates in future years.

Sinn Fein councillor, Michael Ruane, said no one wants to increase the district rate. He said when the rates process started, an increase of 13 per cent was in the offing, but hard work had been able to bring it down.

“Reducing this to a 2.66 per cent increase allows us to protect front line services which the council provides,” he continued, pointing to substantial building programmes going on across the district and £500,000 which has been set aside for sporting clubs across the district to avail of.

“We have taken on board the concerns that are out there but, at the same time, have set the rate as low as we can get it at this moment in time,” he added.

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Alliance councillor, Patrick Brown, thanked council officers for their hard work in helping arrive at the rates increase and the “difficult decisions” they had to make within their departments. He said there was a substantial amount of work to reduce the rates increase from its initial projection.

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