County council in bid to take control of public lighting in towns

A proposal for Trim Town Council to transfer its control of public lighting in the town to Meath County Council prompted an angry reaction from Cllr Vincent McHugh who argued it was another example of powers being taken away from town councillors. The motion was for the powers, functions and duties of Trim Town Council in relation to the provision of public lighting (maintenance, repairs, calls form the public, additions to network, upgrades, replacement and taking in charge inspections) to be exercised and performed by Meath County Council from 31st October. However, after a discussion, councillors decided to defer making a decision until they receive a written report on what savings are to be made and how the system would work. Declan Gaffney, Meath County Council, explained that the reason for the proposal was for cost savings and economies of scale. With all the lighting under a single contract, he said they would be able to carry out work on Trim Town Council's behalf offering a better service and producing savings. Town manager Tadhg McDonnell explained that Meath County Council could buy power cheaper as a large customer, rather than having one fairly large (county council) and three small customers (town councils) and that they were trying to maximise their buying power. The arrangement had already been agreed by Navan Town Council and is due to come before Kells Town Council. Cllr McHugh said: "Water and sewerage were taken away, a good try was made for housing, now they want to take away public lighting. I don't know why they don't close us altogether like everyone wants. I am opposed to it. I hear what you are saying but I am sick of hearing about cost saving exercises. All it is, is taking powers away from councillors and it is doing nothing for the town and local democracy." The Fianna Fail councillor added that there was nothing wrong with getting the power from one source but that the functions should be left with the town council. Cllr Donall O'Brien said: "I wouldn't be too quick to take an immediate position. It might be good for it all to be under one umbrella. It only means a different phone number to ring if a light is out." Cllr Ray Butler said he would like to see more information on paper about how it would work. "If the lights go out, who do we call? A lot of our powers have been taken away. I am not happy to vote on this, with only a few lines on a piece of paper. I want to know more about it, who we can contact, who is in charge, etc." Cllr Trevor Golden questioned if it would affect service level agreements and asked if there was a problem, would they contact Trim Town Council or County Hall. Cllr Phil Cantwell said: "I see this as a similar situation to when we were asked to pass over the derelict sites, and, as Cllr McHugh said, by stealth we are losing control of this council. I fully appreciate it is about saving money and God knows we need to save money, but I would second Cllr McHugh and not agree on the grounds that it would diminish our responsiblilty." Cllr Ronan McKenna said he agreed with Cllr Butler that they could not make a decision without a proper report on how the system would work. He said: "I have no problem in principal with giving power to Navan in order to get efficiencies. I think that is what ratepayers and the electorate want but we need to have the assurances that the services provided at moment will continue." Cllr Willie Fay said they were losing footing in every area and he was rejecting it. Mr McDonnell said there would be no change in operation on the ground and that they would be utilising the buying power of the council. He explained their power bill was about €27,000 and if they were able to save €5,000, it would have a significant impact. It was agreed to defer making a decision on the issue until a written report is brought back before councillors at their next meeting.