Trim Town Council recommends rates increase of 4.8%

TRIM Town Council has recommended a rates increase of 4.8 per cent for businesses in the town in their draft which was discussed at a meeting last night (Tuesday).

However, at the time of going to press before the meeting, it is unlikely that councillors will agree to this figure and instead will be seeking a more modest increase.

Cathaoirleach Ray Butler said he wanted to see a conservative figure on this year's rates and said there would be tough negotiations at the meeting.

"I have figures in my head and I will be sticking by them. I feel that people are finding it hard this year to pay their rates with there being a bit of a down-turn and the street works wouldn't have helped either," he said.

"I feel the traders in the town are under enough pressure from shopping centre culture and Sunday trading and the big multiples. We're going through a transition with the new town centre in two years' time and we have to look after our traders who kept the town going over the years.

"People are feeling the pinch in businesses. I think the rates are high enough in towns like Kells and Trim. Until such time as we have a town centre up and running with a Dunnes or Pennies or Tesco to bring people into the town, we have to be very careful with the rates. People are paying enough," added Colr Butler.

Meanwhile, Colr Vincent McHugh said that from the feedback he was getting, he did not think traders were impressed by the proposed rate increase.

"Always in the past they [town council officials] put in for a little bit more than they expect. They never get what they are looking for.

"In my experience, it's like buying a car. You ask for a higher price but are willing to bargain," he said.

Colr McHugh pointed out that it is a reserved function of the councillors to set the rate and is one of the few functions they have left and don't intend to let it go.

"If we think a rate is warranted, that's fine, but if we don't, we shouldn't go ahead."

He said there had been huge increases two years ago and after that they should be going after a modest rate increase. He also said there had been a lot of road-works in the town during the year and the traders had been at a disadvantage and that they could have had a better year.

"This is not the year to go for a close to a five per cent increase in rates. The rate of inflation isn't as high as that," said Colr McHugh.

Colr Gerard Reilly also feels the proposed rate increase is too high and said he doesn't want the rates going any further than the inflation rate.

He said there were a lot of road-works done in the town over the past year and they didn't want to penalise traders who are already fighting competition from other areas.

He said traders needed to sit down in the New Year and see how to buck the serious threats of areas such as Blanchardstown and Navan and pointed out that there are a lot of vacant premises that need to be filled in Trim.

Colr Reilly also said that there were some monies that had not been spent and he would like to see it used to go into a fund for CCTV for the town.

Colr Reilly said they had applied for government funding twice for CCTV and were turned down twice and that they were capable of doing it on their own and should put €10,000 aside a year into a fund, similar to what they did for the playground.

It is also expected that some money in this year's Trim Town Council budget will be put aside for two major conferences to be held in the town in 2008 - the Association of Municipal Authorities of Ireland in February and the Local Authority Members' Association in March.