BY MICHAEL BRESLIN
Fermanagh ratepayers could be paying a massive 15 per cent more in their rates bills in two years time, under the new 'Fermanagh and Omagh' Super Council.
The huge hike is likely to compensate for Omagh's higher District Rate, compared to Fermanagh's.
However, the suggestion has been rejected by Omagh Council who told the Herald this week that it was too early to say how the rates would pan out.
"There are so many other things which have to be brought into the equation in terms of the funding of the other functions which will devolve from central to local government. The rates will be part of the process."
It has also been claimed that Omagh's borrowings are much greater than Fermanagh's and their assets much less.
The Omagh spokesperson however, also responded saying, "Omagh District Council has followed a significant investment plan over the past 20 years.
"This has resulted in the Council developing assets to the value of £41.6 million, with a debt of £10.3 million, giving a very positive 4:1 ratio of assets to borrowing."
By mid-May 2011, the present 26 District Councils will be replaced by 11 'super' Councils as part of the outcome of a review of public administration (RPA).
Already, an 18-strong voluntary transition committee, made up of eight Councillors each from Fermanagh and Omagh along with the two chief executives, are hard at work clearing the path for the new local 'super' Council.
When their work is done, they will give way to a statutory transition committee which, as well as appointing a new chief excective, will strike a District Rate for the year, April 2011 until March, 2012. That's because the new 'super' Councils don't come into play until May, 2011.
Rates apart, potentially the most vexatious decision will be where the headquarters for the new Council will be located.
Fermanagh Councillor, John O'Kane, who is a member of the voluntary transition committee, said that decision would rest with the new 40-member Fermanagh and Omagh District Council.
Ironically, whilst Omagh Council employs more staff than Fermanagh (around 400 compared to 300 here), the stats stack up in Enniskillen's favour.
For instance, Omagh is a smaller Council, despite those 100 extra staff, has a smaller population and is a smaller area.
Mr O'Kane was asked why Omagh Council, being smaller, employed more staff than Fermanagh.
"I don't know. These are sensitive issues. Everybody assumes just because two Councils are neighbouring that they operate in the same way. That's not the case. There is a distinct cultural difference between Enniskillen and Omagh.
"All these facts are now having to be put on the table for the transition committee who will then have to work towards how we are going to converge. Before all these decisions can be made, you have got to fill in the ground and that is what we will be working on within the next few months.
"For instance, we have two leisure departments, two refuse collection schemes, and so on. We will be working in the short term on how we can converge them. We will be gathering the facts from Council officers so that, when the statutory transition committee takes over from us, they will be able to take informed decisions.
"At the moment, there is a list of things to be drawn up as to what our committee should be doing, and there will be a list that the statutory committee will have to do. But, I would envisage that a contentious issue such as the new headquarters should be left to the new Council, for newly-elected people with new mandates to decide."
The 11 new Councils will have an increased range of powers. These include local roads, planning, rural development, plotting local bus services, fire and rescue, future European programmes and some housing-related functions.
Some 100,000 employees across Northern Ireland will transfer to the new Councils, and a further 1,070 staff associated with departments (planning, roads, etc) which the new Councils will be responsible for, will also be transferring over. This will represent an increase of 12% in local government staffing levels.
