IT’S MAKE YOUR MIND UP TIME
MOMENT OF TRUTH FOR ELECTION HOPEFULS
THE MOMENT of truth has arrived and now it really is make your mind up time.
Friday is D-Day for local and European election candidates alike, and it’s set to be an intriguing contest as government party candidates battle to hold on in the face of a surge in support for independents, first-timers and Sinn Fein.
The new Kanturk Mallow district has proven to be a battleground few can predict. With eight sitting councillors among those vying for the six seats on offer there will have to be losers. And that’s before you add in some very strong new candidates.
And before you factor in the voting split between the Mallow and Kanturk areas.
In a final round-up before election day we give you one last look at all of the candidates in your new municipal district, plus we detail just how the reshaping of the electoral area has caused problems for the candidates, especially outgoing councillors.
And to help you make up your mind, we also set out what it is that our councty councillors actually do, and will be expected to do in our changing local authority.
And, finally, we take a good look at what our/your money is being spent on by Cork County Council, where they have a budget of around €307 million annually. This makes for some interesting reading when you compare the Cork figures with the rest of the country.
FOLLOWING NEXT Friday's local elections, the number of Cork county councillors will increase from 48 to 55 as a result of local government reform.
They will be drawn from eight municipal districts, the boundaries of which were drawn up on recommendations contained within the Local Electoral Area Boundary Committee Report (2014).
Elected to office every five years, county councillors, or ‘elected members', have a range of functions known as 'reserve functions'.
Arguably the most important of these is adopting the council's annual budget, which sets out how much the authority can spend each year on essential services such as housing, roads maintenance and library services.
Another key budgetary function is the striking of the annual rate, the charge imposed on the commercial sector for the delivery of services.
This is one of the council's primary sources of funding and the more money needed to run the authority, the higher the rate will be.
Elected members powers also include approving spending on conferences and training, sanctioning any borrowing incurred by the council and deciding to award groups or individuals with civic honours.
Members must also make or vary the County Development Plan, which incorporates zoning land for housing, industrial and commercial purposes as well as deeming areas suitable for particular developments such as wind farms.
Permission for projects not allowed within a certain area under the development plan must also be approved by members. This is known as a material contravention.
Councillors must also approve the sale of council land and property; make, amend or revoke bylaws; adopt house building programmes and establish a scheme of letting priorities for those awaiting local authority housing.
Most of the reserved functions are contained in the county Management Act (1940) and later versions. Additional powers have been granted under other legislation.