Draft budget delivers concern over cake slices
COUNCILLORS heard a presentation on the draft budgetary plans for the district for 2020 and were told that this was at the early stages and across the county has been fair consideration to the new boundary settings.
Members were told that the county has not changed in size but the budget allocation across the board has gone up €200,000.
Cllr Byrne expressed dissatisfaction, feeling that Gorey Kilmuckridge was being left behind in terms of County hall funding, which he feels focuses more on Wexford town ‘ to the detriment of the rest of the county’.
This was disagreed with by Eddie Taaffe, and described as a ‘political statement’ by Cllr Devereux, highlighting Cllr Byrne’s candidacy in an upcoming by election.
‘We could do an awful lot more with this money if we put our minds to it, the property tax payers and the rates payers aren’t coughing up any more, it’s not going to happen,’ he said, suggesting making savings.
‘We have two choices, take funding from somewhere else on an existing budget or we can raise more money ourselves, and we can’t raise more money in the current climate,’ he said.
Cllr Byrne retaliated ‘My argument is not about increasing the size of the cake, it’s about the size of the slices. Not increasing the overall sum, rather how that sum is divided out because the taxpayer is getting less return in Gorey than those in Wexford town’.
‘ This district always got the smallest slice, now that we are by far the biggest district. It should be divided by proportion and we are a ten member district,’ he said.
Cllr Anthony Donohoe described the budget as ‘small,’ saying he would like to see an increase in a roads budget given the rural nature of the new enlarged district.
‘My worry is that is this going to be enough to cover the extended district and our growing size. We are splitting hairs here over a few bob’.
The draft was proposed by Cllr Donohoe and seconded by Cllr Oliver Walsh.
Eddie Taaffe said that Gorey Kilmuckridge was in line with other districts or way ahead and that budgets allocate money to citizens.
He said that funds are squeezed and every effort is made to cut costs, from printing to postage expenses.
Councillors were told that finances were limited and that if there was more money to give, it would be given.
Cllr Sullivan said councillors are obliged to do their best for their communities.
‘We’re basically fighting over crumbs from the table, district by district, which we shouldn’t be doing. What councillors should be doing is asking those with power to return local government funding,’ said Cllr Ó’Súilleabháin.