This morning, news has broken that an agreement has been reached between 18 of Waterford's 32 councillors to overhaul the 2023 budget, as proposed by the council's Chief Executive.
The seven Fianna Fáil, seven Fine Gael and four of the Independent Councillors have decided to put in place a new plan of their own ahead of today's meeting to sign off on the budget.
The original budget, as publicised last week, was for an increase in Commercial Rates of 3% across the board, down from the initial proposal of 5%, on all businesses.
It was proposed that these funds would be used to fund an almost €1 million increase in expenditure, divided between key services of road and housing maintenance in 2023.
However, the councillors in question say this increase would only keep pace with the significant inflation in both areas and that without it, the local authority would fall behind in its responsibilities.
The agreement between Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael and four of the six Independent councillors will see the council operate a full refund of the increase to all businesses paying up to €10,000 in Commercial Rates in any given year.
This will mean that 85% of businesses, starting with the smallest would be eligible for a full refund.
Legally, the council must collect all rates owed, so businesses would have to pay their rates in full but once done, businesses would then be able to claim back their refund of the increase.
A statement released by the Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael councillors, along with councillors Declan Clune, Joe Kelly and Joe Conway, says that they have hammered out this agreement, which will now enjoy majority support within the Council and is now set to pass, irrespective of how other parties vote on the issue.
It is also understood, the agreement has the backing of Independent Councillor Séamus O’Donnell.
"A better solution had to be found"
A spokesperson for the Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael and above referenced Independent Councillors on Waterford City and County Council has told WLR News this morning:
“The proposal to increase commercial rates by 5% was too high. Even applying 3% across all businesses still felt wrong.
"We are in the community and do not believe in punishing our local entrepreneurs.
"The Government is attempting to help businesses with energy bills and other shocks and we believe here locally, we had to do the same.
"We also understand how many in the current environment will lean heavier on Council services so cutting basic services was also not an option. A better solution had to be found.
"With our proposal today, we will offer a full refund on the increase to 85% of Waterford businesses. This means that corner shops, pubs, restaurants, hairdressers etc can all avail of the refund.
"Only the largest businesses will be required to pay the increase in full. We feel this is fair and has the backing of our small and medium sized businesses across Waterford.
"At the end of the day, this will allow businesses to avoid yet another bill and maintain jobs and allow Waterford City and County Council to maintain public services.
"This is a win-win for Waterford today and we would call on the political parties not involved in creating this solution to nonetheless support it on budget day”
This will mean at least 18 out of 32 Councillors will back the new agreement.
The budget meeting takes place this afternoon in Waterford's City Hall.
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