Mid Ulster District Council has decided to increase the district rate its domestic ratepayers pay by more than seven per cent while some services such as local recycling centres will be cut.
At a special meeting of the council held on Monday, the local authority agreed to Sinn Fein group leader, Councillor Cathal Mallaghan’s proposal to increase the domestic rate by 7.3% and the non-domestic rate by 4.32%
Council officers had initially recommended a rate rise of 8.9% before the Sinn Féin proposal.
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Rates are a property tax paid by households and businesses in Northern Ireland. The overall rate which residents pay is based on the district rate set by local councils and the regional rate which is usually set by the Northern Ireland Assembly.
This increase is expected to add around £32 to the yearly bill of those whose property has a rateable value of £125,000.
Despite the increase, residents in the area will still see a number of the services offered by the local authority reduced.
It will result in the closure of recycling centres in Castledawson, Coalisland, Draperstown, Fivemiletown and Moneymore, the introduction of car parking charges in Cookstown and the end of grass verge cutting amongst others.
However, Council’s Chief Executive, Adrian McCreesh was adamant that despite the reduction in services no jobs will be lost telling the chamber “there is no appetite politically or corporately for that [redundancies]”.
The Sinn Féin group leader’s proposal was not the only one on the table, with independent Councillor Barry Monteith calling for the process of striking a rate to be delayed by a week, Councillor Kim Ashton proposing a 4.9 per cent increase and UUP councillor Derek McKinney proposing a 4.5 per cent increase.
Cllr Mallaghan said the reason Council finds itself here is due to the “cost of energy, labour shortages and interest rates”. He also claimed the “decision two years ago to strike a zero per cent increase in the rate is still something we are paying for now”.
“The proposal I would make is an increase of 7.3 per cent,” he said. “For some homes in Mid Ulster, who are fortunate enough and pay their rates by direct debit they may never even notice but for some it will be significant and really difficult.
“Everyone has found their costs increasing and an organisation like this and the size it is, is facing those increases as well.”
Cllr Monteith questioned the legality of striking a rate when it is not known what amount the council would receive from the Department for Communities’ rates support grant.
“We are in the ludicrous situation where a sizeable portion of our budget is coming from the rates support grant and we are sitting here expected to set a rate without knowing what that will be,” he said.
“I think there is a governance issue here as to how councillors and officers are expected to come to a decision with such an obvious gap in their budget and I think there is a serious legal question as to how sound or robust any figures can be because of that.
Describing the comments as “very valid and accurate”, Mr Tohill advised against the delay noting an answer would not be forthcoming within the required timeframe.
A vote was taken on Cllr Mallaghan’s proposal and despite the 16 independent councillors and all members of the DUP and the UUP present voting against the proposal, it passed with Sinn Féin and SDLP support.
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