Minutes of Council meetings- list.:

MINUTES  OF  PROCEEDINGS  AT STATUTORY  BUDGET  MEETING  OF  THE COBH  TOWN  COUNCIL,  HELD  AT  CARRIG HOUSE,  COBH,  - 19TH DECEMBER, 2006.

Presiding - Cllr. N. Doyle

Present - Cllrs. S. O’Connor, J. Mulvihill, P. Whitty, D. Crowley, K. McCarthy, S. Meade and P. Histon

OFFICIALS PRESENT 
Ms. M. O’Halloran Manager                                                       
Mr. P. Lynch Town Clerk.
 
An apology for his inability to attend was received from Cllr. Michael Keating.

The meeting commenced with the recitation of the Lord’s Prayer.

DRAFT LOCAL AUTHORITY BUDGET 2006.

Cllr. Doyle commenced the meeting by asking the Manager to comment on the Draft Budget.

The Manager referred extensively to her report, which accompanied the Budget, and highlighted a number of issues which would have an effect on the preparation of the Budget. She referred to the increase in the County Charge which is payable by each Town Council to Cork County Council. She stated that the method of calculating the County Charge had changed in legislation and that the net effect of the change was that the amount payable by Cobh Town Council had increased substantially. She stated that having regard to the financial situation in which the Town Council found itself, she had negotiated a substantial reduction with the County Council.

In relation to the Housing Programme she made reference to her frustration at the lack of progress in relation to developing the Council lands at Ballynoe for Housing purposes. She expressed her satisfaction that work on the Central Heating Programme was ongoing and that it was hoped that by the end of 2008, all of Council houses would have an adequate heating system in place. She advised the members that in the past week she had approved an agreement in relation to Part V requirements imposed on the developer of the proposed housing development at the Belmont House site. The agreement meant the provision of 8 no. housing units at this location; 6 of these would be affordable and the remaining 2 would be social.

She stated her satisfaction that the Swimming Pool project was completed. She had received the consulting Engineer’s report on the Final Account on the construction phase of the project which showed that the project had been completed with a saving on the contract sum of €128,000. She thanked the design team, particularly, Mr. Denis Deasy of the County Architect’s Department, Mr. Jerome O’Donovan of JODA Consulting Engineers and Mr. David Seignott of James P. McGrath & Associates who ere the Quantity Surveyors on the project. She stated that their diligence and monitoring of the project was the reason for the savings achieved.

She advised that between the date that the Draft Budget had been forwarded to the members and the date of the meeting, the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government had announced the Local government Fund Allocations for 2007. The increase for Cobh Town Council was higher than anticipated at 7.82% which would result in additional income of €47,000. She stated that she was proposing that this extra income be used to pay for the legal costs incurred by the Council in relation to the recent High Court case concerning the Marina.

She advised the members that as a result of the various measures in the Budget she was proposing that the increase in the Rateable Valuation Multiplier would be 4%. She stated that the proposed Rate of 67.11 was substantially lower than the rate of 71.30 adopted by Cork County Council. She stated that she was recommending adoption of the Budget to the members and she expressed her thanks to the members and the staff of Cobh Town Council for their assistance to her since her arrival as Manager.

There followed a discussion on the content of the Budget in which all of the members contributed. All of the Councillors thanked the Manager and her staff for preparing a balanced budget.

Cllr. McCarthy expressed his disappointment at the level of new houses provided by the Council during 2006. He stated that the Council should consider further infill housing in Russell Heights particularly in those areas where existing green areas were attracting anti-social behaviour. He was satisfied with the agreement in relation to the social and affordable housing at Belmont House. He asked that the Council consider including a house in Árd Aoibhinn in the central heating programme as the tenants living there had no means of heating the house.

Cllr. O’Connor referred to the request by the Cobh & Harbour Chamber for an additional rates increase of 1.2% to fund Christmas Lights. He stated that this would affect a number of businesses which did not benefit from the lights and asked the Manager to confirm the level of expenditure incurred by the Council in this area. The Manager advised that the Council paid for the erection of lights on the Christmas Tree, both Squares, the Promenade, Ryng’s Corner, the Courthouse and the Museum as well as contributing towards the cost of providing lights at Top of the Hill. In addition she stated that the Council paid the public lighting charges for all of the lights in Cobh in full.

Cllr. O’Connor asked that the most urgent cases in relation to the provision of doors and windows be dealt with immediately, rather than waiting for further funding from the Department.

Cllr. Crowley expressed his delight at the outcome of the Part V negotiations at Belmont House. He felt that it was vital that the Council do whatever it could to maximise its housing stock. He expressed disappointment at the fact that the issue of the lease on the pool site had not yet been resolved. He asked that extra resources be made available in relation to litter fines and also in relation to local groups receiving grants from the Council.

Cllr. Mulvihill stated that he was unhappy that the additional resources being made available under the Local Government Fund were required to cover legal fees. He expressed disappointment at the 4% increase in Rates and asked the Manager to consider the introduction of a sliding scale in relation to rates payable by new businesses. He asked that the Council, in conjunction with the County Council carry out more work in maintaining the Old Church cemetery. He asked that the Manager look at the possibility of employing a full time litter warden who, he felt, would be self financing.

Cllr. Meade asked that the Manager increase her efforts at increasing the housing stock in Cobh. She was disappointed that the Council had only built or bought 4 houses during 2006.

Cllr. Whitty stated that he had supported the 2006 Budget on the understanding that the application for an extension to the Town Boundary be prepared as soon as possible. He was extremely disappointed that this issue remained unresolved. He stated that the poor financial situation in which the Council found itself was a reflection of the level of financial monitoring within the organisation. He asked that the Council proactively engage with the various voluntary housing bodies o provide extra housing options within the town. He stated that the Budget was a missed opportunity and that a radical overhaul of the way the Council operated on a financial level was necessary.

The Manager stated that she accepted that the Council Budget was not a more radical document. She stated however that this was solely due to the financial situation in which the Council found itself. She stated that if the Council was more financially healthy it would be possible to carry out the extra roles that the councillors wished.

On the proposal of Cllr. Meade, seconded by Cllr. Doyle the following resolutions were adopted unanimously:

Resolved: “That estimated expenditure of €621,932 and estimated income of €583,425, for Programme Group 1 - Housing & Building, be adopted”

Resolved: “That estimated expenditure of €698,039, and estimated income of €420,000, for Programme Group 2 – Road Transportation & Safety, be adopted.”

Resolved: “That estimated expenditure of €88,564 and estimated income of €3,500, for Programme Group 3 - Water Supply & Sewerage, be adopted.

Resolved: “That estimated expenditure of €188,022, and estimated income of €13,500, for Programme Group 4 – Development Incentives & Controls be adopted.

Resolved: “That estimated expenditure of €169,086, and estimated income of €47,000, for Programme Group 5 – Environmental Protection, be adopted.

Resolved: “That estimated expenditure of €233,837, and estimated income of €6,000, for Programme Group 6 - Recreation and Amenity be adopted.

Resolved: “That estimated expenditure of €400,990, and estimated income of €35,000, for Programme Group 8 - Miscellaneous Services be adopted.

RATEABLE VALUATION MULTIPLIER.

Resolved: “That the Draft Local Authority Budget setting out the amounts which will be required for the local financial year ending 31st December, 2007, to provide for the liabilities and requirements of the Council, and for the sums to be supplied to the Public Bodies, whom the Council are bound to supply with monies, as set out on the attached Tables A and B, be adopted.

In accordance with the said Budget, the rate set out in Table B (67.11), be determined to be the Rateable Valuation Multiplier to be levied for the several purposes specified in the said Budget, for the local financial year ending 31st December, 2007.”

ANY OTHER BUSINESS

(a) Cllr. O’Connor asked for a n update on the Landslide Programme. He referred to a fax received from Deputy David Stanton which outlined the Government response to this issue. He expressed his disappointment that the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government appeared to be stating that the Council should use its own resources in this regard. He stated that given the Budget that the Council had just adopted, it was not possible for the Town Council to provide the level of funding required to arrange for all of the necessary emergency works to be carried out. The Manager expressed her frustration at the lack of progress in this regard. She stated that both the Town Council and the County Council had made representations on a number of occasions to the Department over the previous year but with no success.

On the proposal of Cllr. O’Connor, seconded by Cllr. McCarthy it was agreed that the Town Clerk would write to the Minister for the Environment seeking a meeting early in the New Year to discuss the issue.

(b) On the proposal of Cllr. Whitty, seconded by Cllr. O’Connor, it was agreed to accord a Civic Reception to Fr. Donal O’Mahony who was leaving Cobh to become Parish Priest of Cloyne.

This concluded the business of the meeting.

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CATHAOIRLEACH.

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TOWN  CLERK

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DATE.