COMHAIRLE CONTAE ÁTHA CLIATH THEAS
SOUTH DUBLIN COUNTY COUNCIL

South Dublin County Council Crest

MEETING OF SOUTH DUBLIN COUNTY COUNCIL

Monday, November 14, 2016

MOTION NO.3

MOTION: Councillor D. Looney

That the Council agrees to roll out a participatory budgeting pilot scheme in one electoral area for the 2017 Council Budget.

REPORT:

The Local Authority budget is adopted in accordance with section 103 of the Local Government Act 2001, which is prepared in the prescribed format, on a County at large basis. The budget strategy and the Local Property Tax variation process must be completed by 30th September, following which the Members are scheduled to meet on the 3rd November to consider the draft budget at its Annual Budget Meeting. The time available to develop the budget strategy into a detailed draft budget is restricted, as the draft budget must be circulated not less than seven days before the Annual Budget Meeting, i.e. not later than the 27th October. The prescribed budgetary period does not allow adequate time for the introduction of an additional participatory process in the financial planning of the local authority encompassing additional reports and meetings.

The adoption of the Annual Budget is a reserved function of the Members of a Local Authority and the recent legislative changes have enhanced the role of the Corporate Policy Group and the Members in setting parameters for the budget.  The Corporate Policy Group are scheduled to discuss the budget at its meetings on the 4th July and the 19th September, with a Special Meeting of the Organisation Procedure and Finance Committee on the 27th October to discuss any budgetary issues. The decisions about the content and allocation of resources within the budget are reserved powers of the Members of the Council, so the implementation of a participatory process in advance of these decisions would be premature and might be misleading for communities.

The benefits attributed to participatory budgeting includes increased local involvement, accessibility, empowerment and improved decision making based on enhanced local knowledge. A Local Property Tax variation process is progressed alongside the budget strategy and, once decided by the Members, it forms a key part of strategy and influences the draft budget. The Finance (Local Property Tax) Act 2012 as amended provides for at least a 30 day public consultation period seeking the views of the public in respect of the potential impacts of any variation in LPT rates on businesses, individuals and on Local Authority services. The public consultation period is scheduled from the 5th July to the 12th August.

It should also be noted that section 50 of the Local Government Reform Act 2014 provides that service delivery plans, consistent with the provisions in the budget, must be prepared following the adoption of a budget by the Members.  The preparation of operational work programmes, such as the Roads Program etc. could be considered as an alternative means to achieve participation in community budgeting decisions.