£10 RISE IN AVERAGE RATES BILL FOR ARDS
The average annual rates bill in Ards will rise by just under £10, after Ards Borough Council announced a rate increase of under 3%.
At a meeting on Tuesday 9 February 2010, the Council agreed a rise of 2.98%, the lowest in thirteen years.
Mayor of Ards, Councillor William Montgomery, stressed that in the continuing tough economic climate, the Council had striven to minimise the impact of any rates rise on its ratepayers.
"Balancing our ethos of continuing improvement with efficiency is never easy. This year, as in any other, we faced what can now be considered the 'usual suspects' - those aspects of our budget over which we have no control when it comes to setting a rate - such as waste disposal, particularly the ever-increasing landfill tax, fuel and utility prices and employers' costs. Combined, these factors accounted for approximately £700,000 of expenditure in the coming year. Prudence has been our priority and, in considering budgets for this year, our goal has continued to be that any rise in the rate is kept to a minimum, ensuring the impact on our residents is therefore also minimised".
Councillor Montgomery also commented on the uncertainty over the future of local government in Northern Ireland:
"With regard to local government reform, our position has always been that the potential cost of any merger should not be borne by the ratepayer and we await clarification, not only on whether or when the new Council will be formed, but also on how central government proposes to fund the transition process. While keeping a weather eye, until that clarification comes, our focus is where it needs to be: right here and right now, seeking not just to continue delivering quality services, which we believe represent value for money, but to improve those services in line with the themes and aims outlined in our new Corporate Plan".
The Council's plans for the new financial year include expenditure of around £6M on major projects, such as two new community centres for Londonderry Park and the Scrabo estate, a re-fit of Comber Leisure Centre and refurbishment work at Ards Leisure Centre, including a new artificial pitch and renovations to the café and soft play area.
The Council's rate for non-domestic ratepayers also rose by just under 3% (2.97%), which combined with central government's new Small Business Rate Relief scheme, should reduce the rates burden for small enterprises. The relief will be applied automatically by Land and Property Services which calculates and issues rates bills, based on the net annual valuation of a business property. More information on the scheme is available from http://www.lpsni.gov.uk/lps_fact_sheet_-_small_business.pdf