Council sets 2016-2017 rate levy at 402p: No change over previous year.

The rate levy for the Borough of Douglas has been set at 402p for the 2016-2017 financial year.

The rate represents no change over the previous year.

The announcement was made by the Leader of the Council, Councillor David Christian MBE JP, at a public meeting of the Council held on Wednesday January 27, 2016 when he presented his Annual Review and Presentation of the Budget – a budget that had the power ‘to boost the capital’s potential to attract investment’.

With local authority elections taking place in April Councillor Christian took the opportunity to review the performance of the Council over its four-year term.  Against the background of ‘a huge cultural shift in how services are delivered’ he said the Council, which formally adopted a Constitution in May 2012, had been swift to embrace change and introduce new funding models to ‘deliver more for less’.

Over the life of the present Council more than £1.3 million in savings had been achieved through efficiencies, and major capital schemes progressed, ‘without imposing any undue additional burden on the ratepayers’ despite waste levy rises amounting to £942,000 over the same period.

Councillor Christian said the Council had ‘a firm grip on its finances’ and in the 2015-2016 financial year alone had made £416,000 in savings, streamlined its manpower operations, reduced energy consumption and advanced a five-year LED replacement lighting programme.

The Council also completed a £2.9 million refurbishment of Douglas Borough Crematorium and Cemetery. It was ‘a costly project but what we have now is a future-proofed facility for the whole Island,’ he said.

Additionally the Henry Bloom Noble Library had relocated from Victoria Street to Duke Street into a building set to save around £100,000 annually in running costs. In tandem, the Council had completed its purchase of 13 Church Street to house its ICT and Building Control services, also the Town Centre Management and Borough Warden teams, a measure forecast to generate some £32,000 in annual savings and provide the Council with a valuable asset for the future.

Turning to the Council’s resolution to discontinue the horse tram service Councillor Christian said it was ‘a very difficult decision’ and one taken ‘with very great regret’. He explained: ‘But it was a decision that had to be made to avoid what would have been a long-term unacceptable financial burden on the Council’s budgets…and on Douglas ratepayers.’

Key factors determining the decision had been the service’s year-on-year deficit, currently running at £263,000, and the additional loan charges that would have had an annual impact on the rates of more than £420,000 had the £2.9 million scheme to create a tramways and stables hub in a new building at the Strathallan site been completed.

‘To finance that scheme with a 30-year loan would have cost the Council £4,800,000 over its life,’ he said, adding:  ‘The Council has a duty to face and adapt to stark financial realities, to maintain a firm grip on its finances, deliver value for money to the ratepayer and make savings. Were the Council to continue operating the horse tram service it would be failing in that duty.’

Central to Councillor Christian’s presentation was ‘Douglas means business’.

He said: ‘The Council is becoming more entrepreneurial. For Douglas to flourish the Council recognises it must become more commercially innovative and unlock more opportunities to work with local businesses.’

Referring to the discontinuation of Douglas Development Partnership (DDP) after its 15-year mission to advance town centre regeneration, Councillor Christian said the DDP’s town centre management function would continue as part of the regeneration division of the Council’s Environment and Regeneration Department. The DDP had served to cement ‘a common aspiration’ between the Council, government and the local business community to work together on future projects, notably the Central Douglas Masterplan.

He said the Environment and Regeneration Department would be sending out ‘the unequivocal message’ that the Council had an open-door policy towards potential investors and was receptive to proposals of innovative business models to drive economic growth in Douglas.

‘In short, the Council, in partnership with the private sector, will have the power to unlock the capital’s future’s prosperity,’ he said.

In closing, Councillor Christian said the budget was one that had been based on ‘difficult decisions made’ and ‘a budget that means business.’

The meeting also saw the Chairman of the Housing Committee Councillor David Ashford move the Council’s first independent budget for Housing. He explained that in April it was proposed an independent member be appointed to the Committee. The proposal was, he said, ‘a huge step forward in ensuring that our tenants have a direct voice at the table.’

Ahead of the local authority elections in April Councillor Ashford took the opportunity to review the Council’s Housing Department’s performance over the past four years. ‘When this Council began, the tax payer deficiency of Douglas social housing stood at nearly £1.3 million and the ratepayers were making a contribution of nearly £600,000. In the forthcoming financial year the taxpayer deficiency is estimated to stand at £535,000 and the ratepayer contribution will have dropped to just under £300,000. Douglas social housing is more and more starting to pay its own way.’

Referring to housing schemes being advanced, Councillor Ashford said the Willaston refurbishment programme would ‘continue apace, eventually delivering real beneficial changes, both in longevity of the properties and the overall environment of the estate. Over the 10-year life of the scheme that will mean 730 properties being refurbished at an estimated investment of £33 million, making it the largest single social housing investment since the estate was built in the late 40s, early 50s.’

He concluded: ‘Housing should not simply be a space we reside in; it should be more than that. We should be able to call it a home. Therefore providing affordable and appropriate housing, is not only a guiding principle for the Council, but is also essential to every person’s fundamental wellbeing. That is this Council’s guiding light when it comes to housing.’

The full Annual Review and Presentation of the 2016-2017 Budget may be viewed and downloaded here.