Galway Bay fm newsroom - Galway City Council recorded a €160,000 end of year surplus despite the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The figures were revealed at this week’s local authority meeting, where councillors unanimously adopted the council’s 2020 annual financial statement as presented by the finance department.
Head of Finance Declan Smyth told this week’s meeting that the surplus enjoyed by the council last year was down to the extensive Government support it received throughout 2020 and into 2021.
According the report, the local authority collected 61% of rates last year, compared to 83% in 2019 and 81% in 2018, however, a significant amount was recouped through the Government’s Rates Waiver Scheme.
The city council reported a total income of almost €138 million, while total expenditure amounted to over €136 million.
One area where significant savings were made was in the Environment section, where €700,000 of the budget went unspent.
This raised some concerns among councillors with several saying that they had received representations from constituents saying that more work was needed on the upkeep of public spaces.
Director of Services for Housing Dermot Mahon said the reason for the saving was because a number of Council crews were unable to work for periods throughout the year due to COVID-19 restrictions.
The City Manager Brendan McGrath was keen to stress to councillors, that his staff have been working extremely hard throughout the pandemic and that funding was not being withheld from the Environment section.
In his final comments Mr McGrath said he was confident that the Local Authority can fulfill all the commitments that it has budgeted for in 2021, so long as no major unforeseen issues arise.
