The Budget is prepared in the format prescribed by the Department of Housing, Planning and Local Government and sets out the expenditure to be incurred by the Council on the provision of the various services and the associated income to fund these services. The main service areas are housing, transportation, water services (mainly under the SLA with Irish water, planning, enterprise, environmental and recreational and amenity including parks, libraries, sports, heritage and arts. The revenue budget provides for current or day to day expenditure in respect of the services provided.
Revenue expenditure is funded from a variety of income sources, namely:
- · Commercial Rates
- · Local Property Tax
- · Specific Government Grants
- · Fees and charges for Goods and Services
Local Property Tax
The Finance (Local Property Tax) Act 2012 (as amended), makes specific provision that elected members of a local authority may pass a formal resolution to vary the basic rate of the Local Property Tax for their administrative area by a percentage known as the local adjustment factor.
This means that Dún Laoghaire - Rathdown County Council can increase or decrease the basic rate of the Local Property Tax within the County by a maximum of +/-15% or leave it unaltered.
The matter must be considered annually and the Council and invites public submissions regarding the variation by placing a notice in a national newspaper and the public consultation period normally runs from mid June to mid August and the decision is taken at a Council Meeting in September.
Capital Programme
In addition to the Budget which provides for current expenditure the Council also prepares a Three Year Capital Programme which is reviewed annually and makes provisions for capital projects. Its purpose is to address identified infrastructural deficits to support and promote development in the county and in addition includes a range of sports, leisure and community projects.