Businesses up in arms as Council ups water charges

Mullingar Chamber of Commerce is seeking an emergency meeting with Westmeath County Council to discuss the potentially 'crippling' 250 per cent hike in water charges and the one per cent rate rise facing Westmeath businesses.The Chamber called for the meeting in the wake of the Council"s decision to increase water rates from 94.5 cent per cubic meter to €1.19 plus additional charge of €1.26 for waste water. The consolidated charge will now see business paying €2.45 per cubic meter of water as opposed to 94.5 cent charged for the same amount of water last year.'The waste water charge is absolutely new, it has never been there before. If you take the two together you go from 94 cent to 245 cent, it"s somewhere between 250 and 260 per cent,' Mullingar Chamber President Paul O"Brennan said.Coupled with the rate rise, the water charges are going to add serious pressure to businesses who are already struggling. 'It could be a make or break situation for many businesses who are already under huge pressure,' commented Mr O"Brennan.He said the council had no way of calculating the amount of waste water produced by each business despite the level of consumption being metered.In response to the new charges, the Chamber now plan to conduct a survey of businesses in Westmeath in order to ascertain the specific use and discharge of water in each business.However, Westmeath County Council Director of Services Ray Kenny said the water charges will apply in a 'water in water out basis' meaning the users will pay waste water charges at the same rate as consumption despite the level of waste water actually produced by each business.The waste water charges are being implemented nationally with each local authority fixing the rate on the basis of a 'fairly rigorous analysis' carried out by the authority, explained Mr Kenny.Mr O"Brennan was keen to state that he was in favour of water metering and believed it was of great benefit. The system is of particular assistance in the location of water leaks along existing lines, he said. He looked less favourably on the proposition of paying for waste water in the absence of any metering system.Speaking of the Councils rate increase, Mr O"Brennan said, 'I thought it was the one time that the councillors should have shown restraint and not killed the goose that laid the golden egg.'He accused some members of the Town Council of 'talking out of both sides of their mouth'.The Town Council, while a non-ratable authority, had agreed that rates should not be touched in the budget, explained Mr O"Brennan.Following the agreement at Town Council level, some members of the Town Council then went to the County Council meeting and were involved in the vote to pass the one per cent rate increase. 'As far as I am concerned they are talking out of both sides of their mouth. They went to the County Council and did the exact opposite,' he said.In the past the Council and Chamber have enjoyed a close working relationship and Mr O"Brennan was disappointed that the council did not have a pre-budget meeting with the Chamber, as would be the case most years.It would be to the benefit of everyone including the County Manager if the Council had plenty of money, he said. 'If businesses are closed he is going to have no money,' added Mr O"Brennan.The Chamber have sought an emergency meeting with County Manager Daniel McLoughlin and other senior council figures in order to discuss both the water charges and the one per cent rate rise.The council have informed Mr O"Brennan that they will be able to meet with the Chamber in January to discuss the charges.Along with the other issues, the Chamber will be seeking 'new thinking' on behalf of the council. One idea suggested by the Chamber would be rate reductions for new start up businesses in Westmeath,The Chamber will also be asking the Council to reconsider the one per cent rate rise in the light of the current economic downturn and resulting pressure on businesses in Mullingar and the rest of the county.