Cllr Cadogan Enright has brought a motion to Newry Mourne and Down District Council calling for a spending and rates shake-up.
Downpatrick Alliance Councillor Cadogan Enright has brought a motion forward to Newry Mourne and Down District Council’s monthly full meeting saying that the council needs to reduce the level of rates for ratepayers as he maintains that the rates’ levels are comparatively high.
However, the motion was referred to the Strategic Working Finance Group and the discussion will be a matter for the ears of councillors only and not for media scrutiny… or further public debate. He focussed on the new Council HQ proposal costing £20million to be built in Newry and the need to progress with more green economy projects to add to environmental and financial sustainability.
His motion reads: “That this Council recognises that the trajectory of our medium to long-term rates needs to be reduced as rates in NI are very high compared to other parts of these Islands.
“Council needs to aim to sustainably live within its means – delivering front line services affordably and at the best cost available to and for the ratepayer.
“Council will ensure all discretionary non-front-line projects have a clear and dependable pay-back of 3 to 8 years that will increase revenues or reduce expenses within Council to ensure we can hold rate increases to a close to zero as possible for the next 5 years”.
Councillor Enright in speaking on the motion said:
“Firstly, delivering front-line services affordably is not just meaningless mouthing of platitudes. This principle presents Councillors with real choices in fulfilling their fiduciary duties.
“Building a new HQ in Newry for £20 million is a gross waste of money when better buildings are available in the City for a tiny fraction of that cost as Alliance have demonstrated in our rates submission that all Councillors were copied on last week.
“Alliance have shown that current plans for a new Council HQ in Newry requires us to spend £1.5 million per annum more than we should be spending every year for 30 years.
“A £45 million overpayment that can be avoided by moving our Newry-based staff into good accommodation on the Quays in Newry in a location convenient to the public and with good parking. We have no need to build a giant second HQ in Newry.
“Secondly, a policy of ensuring all discretionary, non-front-line projects have a clear and dependable pay-back that produces value-for-money for the ratepayer has a real-world meaning in the real financial world where Councillors are supposed to live.
“Based on figures we have received from Councils consultants ARUP on the proposed Newcastle Gondola, from the outline business case OBC and from Council management, there is no financial business case for a Gondola.
“In fact it looks like it will lose us millions every year.
“By contrast there are several ‘Green Economy’ projects that are not being fast-tracked which would give the Council a huge positive cash flow from the very first year with very short timelines and are more closely associated with Councils core statutory duties unlike the Gondola.
“The people of Newcastle want the Leisure Centre Councillors have been talking about for the last 30 years and which should cost about £12 million pounds. Not the £50 million estimated by the Department for the Gondola.”
Cllr Enright added that “already £15 million has been taken out of our current spending budget for these vanity projects that otherwise they would have paid for front-line services with no rates increase.
“The Gondola and 2nd HQ in Newry projects will put more than 5.5% on the rates if they go ahead. Our Staff in Newry are deserving of an affordable modern office building with good parking for both themselves and the public and should not have to wait years for a building project that may take until 2027.”
