This article is from page 25 of the 2008-12-16 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 25 JPG
THREE Kilrush Town councillors gave up their conference money to ensure that the cost of applying for a parking permit in Kilrush did not increase by 100 per cent.
The decision followed a suggestion from the father of Cllr Jack Fennell (Ind) that the council consider giving up the conference fund and the may- oral bonus to spare the rate payers a three per cent hike and those paying parking permits an increase in ad- ministration costs of €10.
While the rate increase of thee per cent was passed, former mayors and chairpersons Cllr Fennell, Cllr Stephen O’Gorman (FF) and Tom Clyne (Ind) agreed to give back their conference allocation for the remain- ing six months of this council to re- tain the parking permit cost at €10.
“-€18,000 allocated to this council is going to seminars and conferences around the country. They should be eliminated for a period of two years. The ratepayers are paying for that. I have never seen a report back from one of those conferences,” said Cllr Fennell.
‘I propose the mayors give up their bonuses for a year or two,” he added, claiming that it would save the coun- cil between €3,000 and €3,500.
“T agree,’ said Cllr O’Gorman.
“You would Stephen, you have a
job,” said Cllr Collie Sweeney (Ind). Cllr Fennel’s proposal lead to a heated debate in the chamber, a de- bate that ran one and a half hours over its allocated time. Cllr Tom Prendeville (FF) accused
members of the council of looking for cheap headlines.
“IT am calling the bluff of people here looking for cheap headlines. Anyone who wants to put up their 2,000 (conference allocation) do it
now,’ he said.
He also asked for members to say if they wanted to give up their gratu- ity for the year, or eliminate the grant for retiring members.
“T don’t want any headlines,” added Cllr Prendeville.
Cllr Marian McMahon Jones (FG) said it would be an ideal situation not to increase the rates as business in the town was bad this Christmas with early sales in most shops.
She suggested that money be taken from the civic office fund. Earlier this year €213,000 was taken from the revenue budget and put into this capital programme.
‘Times were better then and no one could foresee what was to happen,” said Cllr McMahon Jones.
“We could look at taking it out of capital and putting it back into rev- enue and put things on hold for 12 months.”
Cllr Prendeville said, “23 per cent of this budget goes on promoting this town and it 1s very easy to make cheap shots,” he said.
Town Clerk John Corry told the members that the three per cent in- crease in rates was the minimum necessary to maintain the town’s os ATs Gone