Yesterday Donegal County Council passed its revenue budget for 2023. The total expenditure forecast for next year is €175,555,907.
This equals €480,975 daily expenditure or €1,056 council expenditure per citizen.
The meeting heard that the cost increases experienced in the previous two years during the Covid pandemic did not ease and instead have worsened.
Chief Executive John McLaughlin said that there were difficulties in creating a balanced budget due to “extraordinary inflation”.
The council’s electricity costs have already increased by 200 per cent in 2022 and are estimated to increase a further 241 per cent in 2023.
The budget for 2023 has included an additional €3,328, 698 for the predicted increases in energy costs.
Commercial Rates are to remain unchanged in 2023, to help businesses cope with pressures due to rising inflation.
The meeting also heard that the total expenditure for 2022 is expected to exceed this year’s adopted budget by at least €7.7 million.
This increase was due to an increased expenditure on roads, energy and housing maintenance.
See Thursday’s Donegal News for full coverage of the meeting.
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