Parties at odds but rates go up

Parties at odds but rates go up

5 February 2014

A LAST-ditch effort to freeze the district rate has failed.

Politicians are split on keeping the district rate at its current level or forging ahead with an increase to fund the local authority’s £20m annual budget.

After weeks of intense negotiations and re-examining budgets across a range of departments, it had looked on Monday morning as though rates bills would increase by just 0.5%.

But on Monday night a working party comprising politicians from all the main political parties decided to recommend an increase of 1.99 per cent. The decision wasn’t unanimous.

The UUP and one SDLP councillor were in favour of freezing the rate, but the DUP, Sinn Fein and another SDLP politician voted for the near two per cent increase.

The hike is expected to be rubber-stamped at Down Council’s annual rates meeting next week, resulting in homeowners whose property has a capital value of £150,000 paying an extra 50p a week in rates in the new financial year.

Owners of homes with capital values of £200,000 and £250,000 will be paying an extra 67p and 84p a week respectively.

The district rate was frozen ahead of the 2011 local government elections as politicians attempted to curry favour with the electorate, but that won’t be happening this year as for the first time in decades, politicians are set to agree a rates increase in an election year.

Down Council merges with its neighbour in Newry and Mourne in 2015 as part of sweeping changes across local government.

Councillors say they recognise that a critical eye is kept on Down Council spending over the next 12 months to ensure the organisation is operating as efficiently as possible.

They say prudent financial management in the run-up to the council merger will help keep next year’s rates increase as low as possible.

The Recorder understands the rates working party was initially faced with a projected increase of around eight per cent when discussions to agree budgets across all council departments for next year started several months ago.

Councillor Dermot Curran, the chairman of the rates working party, said he would liked to have seen the district rate frozen, given the current state of the economy and the pressure home and business owners are under.

“Life is tough for many people out there at the moment and freezing the district rate would have provided them with some relief. While a near two per cent rise may not seem a lot, it will have an impact,” he said. “I was very keen to see the rate held at its current level.”

Ahead of next Monday night’s rates meeting, a Down Council spokeswoman said the district rate for the new financial year has not yet been set and may change.