Cost of council services to increase by £4 million

THE cost of key services provided by Fermanagh and Omagh District Council has risen significantly during the past 12 months due to the cost-of-living crisis.

Figures released as part of the council’s rates process show that it is required to raise almost £42 million to provide its services for 2023/204.

This figure has increased by more than £4 million compared to the same period 12 months ago.

Waste management, which includes bin collections, has gone up from £12.2 million in 2022/23 to £14.1 million for the coming year.

This represents an increase of 15 per-cent year-on-year, and is the largest expenditure incurred by any of the council’s departments.

The next biggest slice out of the council’s budget is the almost £7 million that it will take to run wellbeing and cultural services for the coming year. This figure has gone up by 20 per-cent or £1.1 million from £5.7 million in 2022/23 to £6.8 million during the coming year.

There has also been a large increase in the costs associated with the capital unit. This looks after major capital projects and has increased by 38 per-cent from £955,000 to £1.3 million, and is the largest percentage increase of all.

The council is paying for this £4 million rise through a range of measures. These include £1.6 million from a Covid-contingency fund, a rise of 68 per-cent on the same period last year. Money totalling £250,000 has also been obtained from a renewal and repairs fund.

With support from central government of £3.5 million, the amount to be raised by both the domestic and non-domestic rates is totalling £41.2 million, up from £38 million last year.

This, in turn, has led to a non-domestic rates rise of 7.45 per-cent, and a domestic district rate increase of 5.59 per-cent for the coming year.