Councillors ‘in the dark’ on city’s €200m spend

THERE were calls last night for better break-downs on Cork City Council spending after concerns were raised about how €200 million was spent on capital projects.

They came after details of the 2005 budget were released. They show the city finished the year with a €202,000 surplus.

But Labour Cllr Michael Ahern said most councillors were in the dark about how over €200m was spent on capital projects.

“There is half a line from the city manager about this spending,” he said.

City Manager Joe Gavin said the €202.4m capital expenditure “reflected the wide range of day-to-day operational services provided by the council and an extensive capital programme”.

But Mr Ahern said that wasn’t enough.

“How much exactly did we spend on St Patrick’s Street last year - did it come in on budget?

“How much did we spend on the courthouse - did it come in on budget? How much did we spend on Blackrock Castle - did it come in on budget?

“We don’t have any measure to judge whether we’re coming in on budget. There’s not enough discussion. We have talks to pass capital projects, but how exactly, and where exactly was the money spent.

“There is a loose connection to council on capital expenditure. We need regular financial accounting.”

Details on spending are supplied to a small council committee once a month.

Mr Gavin said he had no problem changing that system to provide a more detailed breakdown.

The council spent €358.4m running the city last year, but income was down in some areas.

Mr Gavin said the success of the council’s kerbside recycling scheme had hit refuse income and the success of the park and ride had hit parking income.

The withholding by the commercial sector early last year of almost €7m in water charges had also affected finances. But Mr Gavin said strict budgetary controls had ensured most city departments came in on, or just above budget.

However, a number of departments did overrun.

Housing maintenance was €190,000 over - it was compensated by higher than anticipated level of rents.

Planning and Development overspent by €88,000. A surge in the number of planning applications pushed processing costs up by €43,000. This was more than recovered through development fees. Roads maintenance and traffic overspent by €769,000 but this was matched by increased grants.