PROPERTY TAX RATE WILL STAY THE SAME
COUNCILLORS VOTE TO RETAIN THE LPT AT ITS CURRENT BASE-RATE
COUNTY Councillors have voted to retain the Local Property Tax (LPT) at the same level as the past year, with 21 voting in favour and eleven against.
At a council meeting on Monday, the elected members had the choice of retaining the property tax at its current level, or reducing or raising it by up to 15 per cent.
Speaking before Councillors debated the matter, Wicklow County Council Chief Executive, Frank Curran, warned: ‘If the property tax is cut then there will be cuts to basic services.’
Retaining the basic rate would allow for the continuation of funding for a number of different projects, including homelessness, disabled persons grants, libraries, playgrounds, community grants, economic development and discretionary funding for the five municipal districts, councillors heard. By retaining the LPT base, it was estimated it would be worth €17.2 million to Wicklow County Council.
Twenty per cent of the money collected will have to go to an equalisation fund, whereby funds are redistributed to Local Authorities which do not have a sufficient property tax base to generate sufficient funding for its services.
That would leave Wicklow with a property tax baseline of €13.7 million, compared to only €8.5 million in 2014.
With the property tax remaining the same, the total council income estimated for 2018 would be €92.8 million, with an expenditure of €100.6 million, leaving a shortfall of €7.75 million.
Cllr Joe Behan proposed cutting the LPT by 15 per cent.
‘ This whole LPT process was designed to put pressure on councillors to put in place the maximum rate the Council Executive are looking for,’ said Cllr Behan.
He was also critical of the legal bills racked up by the council in court proceedings against former and sitting councillors, while lamenting the fact that the amount of money the Whitestown court case could cost the local authority could reach upwards of €100 million.
Nine councillors voted in favour of reducing the LPT, with two abstaining and 21 against.
Cllr Steven Matthews had attempted to get a breakdown, under Freedom of Information, from the Revenue over where LPT receipts from Wicklow originated from. He was informed that the information would only be made available if requested from the Minister or Wicklow County Council.
‘I think it is important to know where the money is coming from so I would propose that we ask the Minister to request the Revenue to supply the information,’ said Cllr Matthews.
His proposal received the full support of the council and wasn’t required to go to a vote.
Cllr Tommy Cullen proposed that a request should be made for the Minister to form a special Local Government Fund collected from residential stamp duty of 20 per cent to be administered from the local authority where the stamp duty originated from.
This proposal was passed after 14 members voted in favour of the proposal, eleven against and seven abstained.
Cllr Derek Mitchell proposed retaining the LPT at its current rate, the proposal that eventually passed after a vote.
‘We need to have enough money to provide all types of services. Those calling for a reduction need to state what services will be cut,’ said Cllr Mitchell.
A number of councillors were critical of the equalisation fund, whereby 20 per cent of the LPT collected in Wicklow being distributed to other counties.
Cllr Jennifer Whitmore said: ‘Some counties voted to reduce their LPT even though they were recipients of the equalisation fund. They were basically subsidised by other local authorities and it is absolutely unacceptable that this was allowed happen for two years running.’