Kenny does not want to close Sligo council, members told

Marese McDonagh Taoiseach Enda Kenny has made it clear he does not wish “to close down Sligo County Council”, elected members have been told.

Amid speculation that the council, described in the Dáil as the worst performing in the country, was facing abolition, it emerged that both the Taoiseach and Minister for Environment Alan Kelly met with council management in the past 10 days.

Even before Monday’s annual budget meeting got under way, councillors learned the Department of the Environment had questioned whether its 2015 draft budget “represented a credible first step towards financial recovery”.

In a letter to chief executive Ciaran Hayes on Friday the department reiterated its demand for a 10-year financial plan from the council.

Many councillors expressed anger that the Minister had not met with councillors, saying this showed contempt for democracy, especially given that such a meeting had been requested last July.

Cllr Sean MacManus (SF) said the Minister had shown “total contempt “ for elected members and had come to Sligo “to put a gun to the head” of officials.

As council staff confirmed that the request for a meeting had been sent and acknowledged last July, Cllr MacManus accused the Minister of misleading the Dáil last week when he said he had not received the request.

Pointing out the council had cuts its workforce by 188, or 30 per cent, Cllr MacManus said it was now being asked to collect water charges while Irish Water staff “sit on their fat backsides and drawn down bonuses”.

The chief executive outlined a number of additional cuts to services and staffing levels, being targeted in the 10-year plan, against the backdrop of department demands for a €1m surplus in 2015.

He said changes announced by the Government last week in relation to Irish Water would have a serious impact on the council through the loss of rates from the utility and because, as landlords , it would be required to collect water charges .

Mr Hayes said the department was targeting the closure of the motor tax office in Tubbercurry which was “very difficult to argue with” given there were two in the county, and only one for Cork city and county.

Mr Hayes warned it was now council policy to pursue through the courts any businesses which were able but refused to pay rates. An income generation task force was being set up with “rigid enforcement of parking and traffic fines planned” and renewed focus on rent and housing loans..

Coroner fees estimated at almost €200,000 for 2015 will not be paid by the council, despite a legislative demand on him to do so , the chief executive said. “At a time when we are being asked to let our own staff go I cannot justify making that payment,” said Mr Hayes. The coroner’s office was under the remit of a separate agency, he pointed out.

The council will pay €500,000 in bank interest in 2015 but “if we got a cash injection we could reduce that”, the chief executive said.

Councillors heard that there are almost 1,100 people on the housing list.

Mr Hayes told members that the council was battling a “legacy “ debt partly caused by adhering to government policy in upgrading its water services infrastructure. As a result operating costs doubled from €5 million in 2008 to €10 million in 2013 while the Local Government Fund, the council’s main income source, was halved in the same period .

The 2015 budgeted expenditure for Sligo County Council is €60.6 million, a €1.37 million decrease on the combined budgets for 2014 for Sligo County Council and Sligo Borough Council, which was abolished this year.

Cllr Declan Bree (Ind) said the "windfall", which was supposed to follow the abolition of the borough council, had not materialised.

Following an eight-hour meeting councillors voted by 11 votes to six to pass the budget and so averting the threat of abolition. The measures got the backing of Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael members with Independents and Sinn Féin voting against.