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Introduction
This Directorate includes Finance, Procurement and Information Technology.
A revenue surplus of €1.028m was delivered in 2020 as compared to a surplus of €1.017m for 2019.
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Funding support was received from Government to compensate the Council towards the loss of income and additional costs incurred as result of Covid -19.
There was a continued focus within the Council on disciplined budgetary control, implementation of efficiencies, reduction in cost base and adoption of prudent budgets.
It is the sixth consecutive year in which the council has produced a Revenue surplus amounting to a cumulative of €9.1m for period 2015 - 2020. The effect of the strong performance has meant a reduction of the Council’s accumulated Revenue deficit from a high of €26.6m in 2014 to €17.45m at end of 2020.
The overall good performance has facilitated a number of other financial benefits such as the improvements to cashflow and the overall reduced reliance on overdraft facility, with associated savings in the cost of funds.
The restart grant scheme delivered direct grant aid to micro and small businesses to help them with the costs associated with reopening and reemploying workers following Covid-19 closures.
Sligo County Council administered and paid restart grants to the value of €9m during 2020. The funding for the restart grants was recouped from the Department of Business, Enterprise and Innovation.
The IT section played a central role in 2020 in ensuring the continued provision of Information Technology (I.T.) services to the council as Ireland grappled to deal with Covid -19 restrictions.
Solutions were speedily put in place by IS staff to enable users to work from home. Virtual meetings became the norm with I.T. support given to staff and councillors so that meetings could continue to take place. Security was also enhanced by ensuring staff use multi-factor authentication to access the council network remotely.
Analysis of Collection of Yields 2020:
Commercial Rates
The percentage revenue collection from commercial rates for 2020 was 69%. To alleviate the impact of Covid19 on eligible businesses during 2020 the Government funded a 9-month rate waiver scheme for commercial rates scheme.
For prior year’s comparison purpose, if the waiver income was added to the amount collected, the percentage collected in 2020 would have been 81% as compared to 82% in 2019.
Housing Loans
The percentage collection from Housing Loans at the end of 2020 was 68%, an increase of 4% on the collection at the end of 2019.
Housing Rents
The percentage collection on Rents improved from 80% in 2019 to 82% in 2020 resulting in a reduction of rent arrears of €171k during 2020.
Motor Tax
The percentage of Motor Tax transaction which were dealt with online i.e. transactions processed and tax disc issued in 2020 was 80% compared to 64% in 2019.
