Council under pressure to keep rates, parking low

Navan Town Council is coming under intense pressure to keep commercial rates and parking charges at current levels in its budget for 2009. With councillors due to discuss next year"s budget at a preliminary estimates meeting next week, both Navan Chamber of Commerce and the Navan Retailers Association have urged then to keep costs down and avoid any increases which struggling local businesses may find difficult to pay. Chamber president Mary Sadlier warned that it would take just a minor increase to push some businesses over the edge. She said the Chamber would fight any increases and appealed to councillors not to implement any rates hikes this year. She warned that killing off business in the town would be counter-productive and the council would then be faced with derelict buildings. Ms Sadlier said she had no doubt the council would listen to the concerns of local businesspeople and that the council understood their dilemma. Brendan O"Dea of the Navan Retailers" Association also urged the council to avoid any increase in rates or parking charges. 'Increasing the rates is an absolute no, given the current situation,' he said. He also stressed the traders" total opposition to an increase in parking charges. 'We are competing with towns that have no parking charges. Those that have are making concessions in the run-up to Christmas, but nothing is planned in Navan to reduce parking charges,' he added. 'The council should be considering abolishing parking charges or at least reducing them at Christmas and they certainly shouldn"t increase then,' Mr O"Dea said. Cllr Shane Cassells said there was a reponsibility on the council"s management to produce a budget that was fair and would not penalise anyone. He said it was a case of balancing the books and trying to give a fair deal to people in the town and to local businesses. Meanwhile, a second 'behind closed doors" meeting of Kells Town Council to discuss its budget for the coming year concluded without agreement on Friday and a third meeting is due to take place in the coming week. Two central issues behind the council"s failure to agree a budget are the commercial rate for the coming year and the future of the town"s heritage centre which has been running at a substantial loss. Despite several hours of negotiations on two occasions, issues have not yet been resolved and a third meeting is to take place, though a date has not yet been set for this. As well as running at a substantial loss due to a decline in tourism, Kells Heritage Centre also requires extensive works to be carried out including the replacement of the roof. If works proceed, the money will have to be found but it is not yet known if councillors are willing to sanction this funding. One local councillor commented that Kells Town Council does not have a lot of revenue and, with a lot of shops closing, it would be difficult to balance the books owing to the lack of capital. There is a also a large loan to be repaid for the refurbishment of Kells Town Hall, where €5.2m was borrowed. Councillors feel that with a lack of commercial activity in the town, it would be unfair to impose a high rate on traders who are trying to make a living. Trim Town Council has not yet held its annual budget meeting though traders are making representations to councillors not to impose a high rates increase for the coming year. Cllr Ray Butler, who owns a shoe shop on Market Street, said he had received several representations from business people in the town who are finding things 'extremely hard'. He said: 'Businesspeople are under pressure to pay rates as it is and we have to take that into consideration. The rate increase will be very small if there is any at all,' he said. 'Like every town in Ireland, business is down. November was a very cruel month for town. Businesspeople are finding it hard to pay rates as they are and don"t want an increase. In these times, we have to look after these people and keep the business that we have,' he added.