This article is from page 16 of the 2011-06-14 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 16 JPG
CONSIDERATION should be given to a reduction in commercial rates in Ennis, one of the town’s longest serving councillors has said.
Cllr Peter Considine (FF) said that many businesses in Ennis are finding it difficult to pay rates.
He said, “We should be looking at a minor decrease in rates to assist businesses that are struggling.”
Cllr Considine was speaking at the June meeting of Ennis Town Council, where members were presented with the Council’s annual financial statement for 2010.
In his report, Town Manager Ger Dollard states, “2010 resulted in a small positive operating result of € 102,725 on the revenue account. This represents an overall improvement in Ennis Town Council’s revenue account and reverses the negative result of 2009.”
He added, “Overall, it should be noted that the AFS reflects the position at a particular point in time and underlying issues and trends need to be taken into consideration.”
The statement shows that expenditure on the revenue account (excluding transfers) amounted to € 11,867,320 while income on the revenue account (excl transfers) amounted to € 5,214,747.
Mr Dollard explained there were a number of reasons for the principal variances in income and expenditure for 2010.
They included: loan charges under budget mainly due to the fact that an additional loan for section E of the Inner relief road that was budgeted for and not drawn down; income from traffic fines and parking charges being less than expected; the requirement of a higher provision for potential bad debts of commercial rates due to the current economic crisis and additional expenditure (€ 666,594) on Lees Road and other recreational facilities.
The report shows that the figure for irrecoverable rates in 2010 was € 528,930. Cllr Michael Guilfoyle (Ind) urged the Council to get tough with some business people whom he said are “not paying rates and moving from one shop to another”.