Tipperary County Council to debate 15% property tax increase on Monday

Tipperary County Council will resume their monthly meetings on Monday next after the summer break with the controversial issue of local property tax looming on the horizon.

The council had a pre-Budget workshop recently and members were informed that an increase in the LPT would be sought in a bid to bring it back in line with the 2018 levels.

The council members had voted last year to reduce the local property tax for 2019 amid great controversy with the council executive pointing out that many of the services they were providing and the projects they were funding, would be affected - the reduction was in the order of €1.18million.

However, when put to a vote, members pressed ahead and decided that the LPT be reduced, thereby leaving the executive in a big quandry. The LPT amounted to approximately 16% of the councils income in 2019, but an increase in the charges per household would obviously result in greater income and therefore greater scope for the finance department of the council.
Chief Executive Officer Mr Joe MacGrath had urged the members last year to very carefully consider the implications before the vote and warned afterwards that the council would have to cut services in a bid to balance the books. And, the executive will now be appealing to members to once again consider the implications of not voting for the increase, ahead of the drawing up of the Draft Budget for 2020.

This will be the first Budget for the new council and while there is a lot of experience on the local authority from the former North and South Tipperary County Councils, and then the first united Tipperary County Council, there are still ten new councillors who will be dealing with their first budget and spending in sectors such as housing and building; roads, transportation and safety; water services; development management; environmental services; recreation and amenity; agriculture, education, health and welfare; and a range miscellaneous services.

Commercial rates account for about 19% of the local authority's income and this rate will have to be set also in the coming months ahead of the Draft Budget in late November/early December. Grants and subsidies account for 36% and goods and services usually amount to about 20%. That then leaves the local property tax as the next main source of income for the council and the finance department headed up by Liam MacCarthy will be impressing upon the members on Monday, of the need to approve the increase so that further services can be provided during the 2020 financial year.