This article is from page 25 of the 2014-05-20 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 25 JPG
CLARE County Council returned a surplus of almost € 650,000 last year, out of a total expenditure for the local authority of more than € 104 million.
According to the unaudited Annual Financial Statement for 2013 released by the council, the local authority ended the year with a € 643,00 surplus on a total revenue expenditure of € 104.4million.
Speaking at the launch of the statement, County Manager Tom Coughlan said that the council had made great progress in reducing its debt levels in recent years.
“Over the term of this council, the cumulative operating debit balance, which stood at € 1.77 million at the start of 2009 has been reduced to € 1.08 million at the end of 2013. This reduction in the cumulative deficit in a period of reduced fund- ing and uncertain economic circumstances is a positive development to be welcomed,” he said.
The accounts also show that that the local authority billed a total of € 36.1 million in commercial rates in 2013, which represents 35 per cent of the council’s total revenue expenditure in the year. The council collected € 35.8m in rates in the year and the total amount of rates outstanding at the end of 2013 is lower than the balance outstanding at the end of 2012.
“Customer balances are being actively pursued through engagement with customers in agreeing payment plans or through legal action, where necessary,” continued Mr Coughlan
“It is a difficult time for many businesses and the council tries to balance this reality with the need to maximise its collections to deliver services as planned at budget time to the people of County Clare.
“The council is committed to adopting a practical approach in terms of facilitating rate payers in their payment arrangements when possible.”
Clare County Council has also increased income over budget in the year, in particular from the Non Principal Private Residence (NPPR) charge. Income from the Non Principal Private Residence charge (NPPR) was € 2.2 million for the year. The income was greater than budget by € 0.7 million mainly due to a significant amount of income from penalties for late payment.