Council to consider draft budget and District Rate at Special Council Meeting
5th February 2019
A special meeting of Fermanagh and Omagh District Council will take place on Thursday 7 February 2019 at the Townhall, Enniskillen to agree a draft budget and to strike the District Rate for 2019-20.
The District Rate is set by the Council annually to meet its legislative requirements and to ensure that there is adequate funding in place to support the delivery of Council services and investment in infrastructure at an affordable rate for Fermanagh and Omagh ratepayers.
The draft budget has been developed following an extensive financial planning exercise undertaken by the Council’s Estimates Focus Group and the Estimates Working Group, taking into account a number of financial issues and challenges facing the Council in the year ahead.
These include an unplanned reduction in the Rates Support Grant from central government; an increase in waste disposal and collection and street cleansing costs; increasing demands on Council services and resources due to fly tipping, vandalism and additional maintenance demands and an increase in salary and wage costs. The Council also faces a number of uncertainties for the 2019-20 financial year such as the potential for additional costs in relation to the outcome of the Brexit process.
General inflationary increases in costs apply across all areas, however these are being offset by efficiency savings across a number of service areas. Commitments to support a number of projects, initiatives and plans approved by the Council in its current year will also be financed through the 2019-20 budget.
The draft budget has been prepared following a thorough review of proposed capital and infrastructure plans; Council and Community Planning priorities and current budgets while being mindful of the impact on ratepayers and uncertainties in the current operating environment and the availability of central government funding.
Fermanagh and Omagh District Council will meet at 7 pm on Thursday 7 February 2019 at the Townhall, Enniskillen to agree the budget for the 2019-2020 financial year and to set the District Rate that will apply for that year in the Fermanagh and Omagh District Council area.