My second motion at this months (17th Oct) Municipal District Meeting,

Following up on the report to my full council motion regarding all councillors having a voice in pre-budget discussions and negotiations, that the municipal district councillors are provided with a list of the representations/requests made by our municipal district finance committee representative as part of the pre-budget discussions and an opportunity be provided for municipal district councillors to be consulted by our finance committee representative as an urgency.

Here is the report issued by: Ms F Millane, Accountant, Finance Section: The Finance Committee and CPG have both been briefed on the difficulties facing council in balancing the budget for 2019. A total lack of buoyancy in rates income combined with (as advised to full council) an effective increase of just €10,924 in LPT, together with increases in payroll, insurance and other costs has resulted in a budget where there needs to be reductions in some expenditure lines.
The possible reductions and their consequences were discussed with the Finance Committee and are the subject of ongoing dialogue between finance and the other directorates. However, the Finance Committee and CPG are aware that, at this stage of the budget process, there is no possibility of increases in expenditure headings outside of the above areas except where the expenditure line has matching income. Minutes of the Finance Committee, which include a summary of items discussed, are posted to the MembersNet when approved.