by Adrian Mullan

THOUGH there had been many calls over the years for the British Army to leave its two out-posts in Omagh, when the Army finally left last year, it reduced the money available to Omagh District Council through household rates by £200,000. That has meant that the council, which was planning to keep its annual increase to 2.87%, has had to strike a rate at 4.84%, according to a council spokesperson this week.

On Tuesday night at the monthly council meeting the new domestic and non-domestic rates were struck at 4.84%. This increase follows news from the Assembly Finance Minister, Peter Robinson that he was freezing all domestic rates for the next three years.

impact

A council spokesperson said, "In striking the rate, the Council took account of the impact of the vacant sites of St Lucia and Lisanelly Barracks. This vacancy has resulted in a loss of £200,000 in rates income to the Omagh district, which represents almost 2% of the increase to the district rate. Had this income been available to the Council, the increase in this year's Council rate would have been only 2.87%, a level below the rate of inflation.

Less than half of the total amount of any rates bill is allocated to the Council to fund its business, while the remainder is used by central government to fund education, health, housing, roads and water and sewerage services.

Speaking after the meeting, Omagh District Council Chairman, Councillor Bert Wilson, re-affirmed the Council's commitment to ensuring that the district rate increase was kept to a minimum, and reassured the residents of the district that Council finances are managed in a considered, prudent and transparent manner.

"Councillors and council officials have given very careful consideration to the estimates for the year ahead so that a correct balance is achieved between maintaining the increase to the rates at an affordable level while ensuring that the Council has the resources necessary to carry out its statutory services to the highest standards, as well as take forward projects and invest in the economic development and growth of the district.

"The Council has robust planning and monitoring arrangements in place to ensure that its finances are properly managed and that capital projects are carried out within budget.

"Like all local authorities, Omagh District Council is subject to stringent levels of financial scrutiny through rigorous internal auditing systems, as well as independent examination by the Local Government Auditor," he said.

inflation

Councillor Wilson went on to say that most of the 4.8% increase in the council rate is needed to cover inflation and cost of living increases over which the Council has no control, such as increased landfill tax and landfill disposal charges.

"However every effort has been made to either reduce running costs or maintain them at existing levels. A prime example of this is that the running costs for the Strule Arts Centre were within budget during the past year and there is no projected increase in these costs for the 2008/2009 period."