Trim parking charges rise 10c as town council tries to balance books

Trim Town Council approved an increase in parking charges in the town by 10 cent but left commercial rates untouched as it balanced a budget of "the bare minimum" last week. Councillors also have voted to scrap the free parking initiative which has prevailed on Saturday afternoons in the towns's car parks for the past couple of years. The council members were painted a bleak picture of their finances by town clerk Brian Murphy, who told councillors that the total estimated expenditure the council needed to balance its books was just over €2.344 million - an increase on 2011 of €41,000. He told councillors that, on the income side, the Local Government Fund was down by €65,000 and parking income by €70,000, which resulted in a drop of €20,000 in parking fines. Mr Murphy said that an extra €51,000 would have to be spent on servicing their €5 million loan programme and that arrears and irrecoverable commercial rates were €365,786 and €114,000, respectively - over half the council's entire invoice to businesses in the town. Mr Murphy told councillors: "(The) irrecoverable rates figure continues to rise and this has an increased burden on the budget...rates arrears continue to rise and this is the area of most concern, as if rates are not paid, the town council simply cannot function. "The budget is the bare minimum to run Trim Town Council for 2012. A vigorous cost-saving programme is required. Focus must be on the provision of essential services only. Wish lists and desires may have to be sacrificed," he said. It had been proposed that one of the ways of raising money was to increase parking to €1.10 an hour, which Cllr Gerry Reilly wanted amended to €1 per hour. "It's not easy, but leave it at €1 and go into other areas - road maintenance, housing, legal fees - we can't go straight for businesspeople," he said. Cllr Trevor Golden said that a "quarterly review" of finances should be carried out. "If things are better, maybe we can revisit free parking, give that priority and then look at the amenity grants cut as a second priority," he said. "It's very regrettable that we can't find an alternative." Cllr Phil Cantwell objected to the proposed removal of the '10-minute period of grace' on parking, saying it was "critical" to some who would otherwise face large fines. Cllr Vincent McHugh said the €65,000 cut to the Local Government Fund grant was a "disaster" and suggested contacting Trim-based Deputy Ray Butler to review it. The chairman, Cllr James O'Shea, shot down any political point-scoring from Cllr McHugh: "It's vitally important that we don't get into a political argument." Cllr Ronan McKenna said that when Trim Town Council requested a restructuring of the €5 million loan from the Department of Environment "they didn't even bother to respond". He criticised the household tax for going to a "central government fund" and not to the council, saying it would impact on residents who take care of the upkeep on their estates. But his real ire was reserved for the abandoning of the "town hall users". He added: "We told them we would make every effort for an alternative location, and provide a specific allocation towards it. There's no mention of it. I can't support this budget." Cllr Donall O'Brien said the situation with the town hall made him sick. "It kills me inside that there's no money for the town hall. It's a horrible situation but, with a heavy heart, I support the budget," he said. When Cllr O'Shea put the budget to a vote, it was passed by five votes to three, with councillors McKenna, McHugh and Cantwell opposing. Cllr William Fay was unable to attend. The amendment which would see parking reduced to €1 per hour from the €1.10 planned for, with money being taken from roads, housing maintenance and other areas to compensate, also was passed by the same margin.