OPINION: Another hike for Westport ratepayers

Westport is becoming a victim of its own success. This time ratepayers are the victims.
Many Westport ratepayers find themselves at the centre of another rates increase. The increase is due to a revaluation process approved by the Government. While some ratepayers will not be (too) adversely affected, many face extraordinary increases.
Westport Town Council had always prided itself on having a lower rates charge than Castlebar and Ballina Town Councils. When the councils were abolished by the 2014 Fine Gael/Labour flip-flop government, the rates across the county were equalised. Unfortunately, for Westport ratepayers this equalisation meant an increase rather than a reduction in payments.
For their troubles, ratepayers did not receive any increase in services. They simply had to pay up and shut up. At one time ratepayers were assured of services like refuse collection, water in (supply) and water out (sewage). Refuse has since been privatised, incurring an extra charge for ratepayers, and water, apart from being another national mess, carries another charge.
New valuations have been set by the Valuation Office, part of Tailte Éireann. Established on March 1 of this year, Tailte Éireann is the new state agency brought about by the merger of the Property Registration Authority, the Valuation Office and Ordnance Survey Ireland. It provides ‘a comprehensive and secure property title registration system, a professional State Valuation service, and an authoritative national mapping and surveying infrastructure’.
Where does Tailte Éireann get rental-valuation information from? “All ratepayers were issued with a Revaluation Information Form, in which the Valuation Division, Tailte Éireann requested rental information/lease details. Rental information was also received from the Revenue Commissioners and the Property Services Regulatory Authority rental database. All this information was analysed and the conclusions drawn from the analysis is applied to similarly circumstanced property.”
Mayo is among the last of the counties to be revalued, and the final batch of Mayo ratepayers have just lodged their valuation appeals. The date used for valuation figures was February 1, 2022, on a zoned basis per square metre.
For many Westport ratepayers the new valuations are unrealistic, based on a town centre Zone A rate of €520 per square metre, from which Zones B and C rates are deduced. It’s a classic case of Westport being a victim of its own success.
Many ratepayers claim the €520 is not reflective of a realistic commercial rental valuation for town centre premises. Ratepayers do not have an endless pot of cash and Westport pays substantial rates into the county coffers.
Ratepayers were given 40 days to appeal their new valuations. The revised (if any) values will issue in September. Any further appeal could take 12 months. Ratepayers will still be liable, with payment due from January 1, 2024.
The valuation figure (RV) goes before county councillors, who apply the ARV – annual rate on valuation. RV x ARV = rates payable. The current Mayo ARV is 0.239, among the highest in the country. Agreeing the ARV is a reserved function of county councillors.
A concern about the revaluation process is that, once again, the hand of local democracy is being stymied by central government. Councillors will say they have to work using the RV figures while failing to acknowledge that the very process of revaluation needs to be more democratic. They also need to challenge the consistent lowering of central government’s ‘annual capitation’ to counties over the past number of years, forcing local authorities to raise cash by increasing rates.
Councillors will find allies on their national bodies, Local Authority Members Association (LAMA) and the Association of Irish Local Government (AILG). The restoration of town councils is another issue that councillors could get exercised about. It ensures financial autonomy for towns like Westport. Rates raised were spent in the town, not dissolved in the county coffers.
Rates will also determine the type of business that any town can support. The growth of internet shopping and cheap flights with carry-on baggage limitations have already affected buying habits, hurting local businesses. Ultimately, high rates will also affect the viability of many shops, putting pressure on rents and creating more empty buildings. Local councils adopted more of a partnership model and enabled a rates equity. Yet another reason to lament the town councils’ demise.