This article is from page 13 of the 2014-04-08 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 13 JPG
KILRUSH Town Council is expected to vote on Thursday night to ring fence and redesignate money once earmarked for Civic Offices for other local community projects.
More than € 373,000 had been sitting in the council’s coffers to pay for office buildings, but as the council is to be dissolved next month concerns had been expressed that this money would be lost to central government.
In March former mayor Cllr Marian McMahon Jones (FG) had proposed that the council use the rarely used Section 140, Subsection 3 of the Local Government Act 2001, which would request the manager to ring fence money from the town council capital funds for specific projects such as the sports field on the Cooraclare Road.
Town Manager Anne Haugh had suggested that a request be made to the county manager and Head of Finance to ring fence the town council’s money for the projects for which it had been intended.
This Thursday the council is expected to reallocate the money from the Civic Office fund to community projects, and ring fence monies already designated to other projects for the purpose they were intended.
Cllr McMahon Jones said that she is happy with this outcome.
“It is important this money stays in Kilrush for what it was intended after the council is dissolved,” she said.
“As long as the money is prioritised for projects that will benefit the town of Kilrush and the hinterland, I am happy with that. The main objective here it to see the town and area well served.”
Meanwhile the Department of the Environment and Local Government released € 350,000 of the council’s budget for local capital projects.
Town Clerk John Corry had expressed his frustration last month that the department had not given permission for projects already identified by the council as necessary and strategic.
It is understood that the € 350,000 released by department will be used for the astro turf pitch element of the sport facility of the Cooraclare Road with the remainder to be used to progress other identified projects. ��������� ���������� ������������ �����������