Galway Bay fm newsroom - County councillors have passed their budget for 2020 with no increase to commercial rates.
However a controversial 25% tax on vacant properties is set to be introduced despite opposition.
The 39 member group is meeting at County Hall this evening where the controlling pact passed a proposal for an amendment not to accept a 6% increase in rates.
The budget had been drafted by Chief Executive Kevin Kelly on the basis of a 6% rates adjustment as well as a complementary rates payment incentive scheme aimed at smaller businesses.
The Chief Executive stressed that 88% of businesses wouldn’t have a rates increase at all under the proposal.
However many voiced their concerns over the impact of such a move on rural Galway and a schedule of amendments was then tabled by the pact of Fine Gael, Independents and Greens to make up the shortfall.
Fine Gael councillor Joe Byrne presented the proposal for an amended budget which includes the introduction of a 25% rate on vacant properties.
A reduction in the initial draft allocations was also imposed on various areas including traffic management, tourism, tidy towns, burial grounds and unfinished housing estates.
These were all areas which had secured increases in funds in the initial draft but the level of increase has now been reduced.
The amended budget was passed after it secured the support of 20 councillors with 15 voting against.
Fianna Fail councillor Donagh Kilillea was one of many to voice opposition to the 25% rate on vacant premises stating people who have had to see their businesses close will feel the effects of this.
The overall expenditure for 2020 is over 129 million euro.
Local Property Tax is set to generate 14.5 million euro while state grants and subsidies are set to result in revenue income of over 48.5 million euro.
Many raised concerns over the level of funding received from central government compared to other local authorities with Galway County Council securing 2.9 million euro from the equalisation fund.
