Annual Budget 2009 - Roscommon County Council

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Division A | Housing and Building Sale of Private Sites The Council continued to dispose of and transfer a number of fully serviced sites to first time buyers. The sites are sold at a significant discount from market value and purchasers are allowed to select their own house type subject to planning permission being granted. Where lands are available to the Council, further sites can be developed where it is considered there is a demand in a particular area. In 2008, sales were finalised on 6 no. sites in Woodview Court, Ardsallaghmore, Roscommon Town and one site at Forest View, Boyle. Voluntary Sector The Voluntary Sector is a valuable provider of social and affordable housing, whether working in partnership with the Local Authority or private developers. The Council acknowledges the contribution of the voluntary housing towards the provision of housing in the County and welcomes the opportunity to work with the Voluntary and Cooperative Housing Sector to meet the accommodation needs of the County. The Council maintains close contact with every voluntary housing group when planning and constructing a scheme or when selecting suitable tenants. There are a number of schemes under construction and advancing through planning at present. Under the Capital loan and subsidy scheme, a subsidy is payable to the voluntary body in the sum of €519 per house per annum and I have provided a figure of €13,600 to cover the maintenance and upkeep of the Strokestown Scheme and the Ballinagare Scheme. I have also provided a figure of €112,000 to meet the loan charges in respect of the three Loan Subsidy Schemes. The loan charges and maintenance charges in respect of these schemes are 100% recoupable from the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government. Roscommon County Council has also approved funding under the Capital Assistance Scheme for the following: Croghan Enterprise Company Limited - Voluntary Housing Group A development incorporating ten no. units of two bedroom social housing accommodation is being provided by Croghan Enterprise Company Limited in Croghan, Boyle, Co. Roscommon. Funding totalling €1,967,995 has been made available for the project and it is expected that works will be completed by the end of January, 2009. A grant towards the provision of a communal facility to service these units has also been made available. The Roscara Housing Association Limited Two voluntary housing schemes in (1) Creggaslin, Castlerea and (2) Ballintubber were recently completed thus providing eight units of accommodation for persons with specialised needs. A third scheme is underway at the Warren/Drum, Boyle and will provide a further 8 units of accommodation. Further schemes are planned in Ardsallaghmore, Roscommon Town where the site was provided by the Council and in Lisroyne, Strokestown. Both schemes will provide an additional 12 no. units of accommodation and are awaiting Departmental Approval. It is expected that these projects will commence at the beginning of 2009. A07 RAS Programme The Rental Accommodation Scheme (RAS) is a housing initiative introduced by the Government in 2004, and involves local authorities progressively assuming responsibility for accommodating rent supplement recipients who have a defined long term housing need, through direct arrangements between the local authority and the private rented sector. The roll out of the scheme in Roscommon commenced in August, 2006 and all existing long term rent supplement recipients were to be transferred in the pilot phase of the scheme to the end of 2008. The scheme is now considered to be a long term social housing option. Roscommon County Council | Comhairle Chontae Ros Comain | Adopted Budget 2009 | For year ended 31st December 2009 31
Division A | Housing and Building To the end of 2008, a total of 175 units have been transferred under the scheme. This is made up of 52 units in the Voluntary Sector and 123 in the Private Sector. The number in the Private Sector includes 10 units procured under the Social Partnership Towards 2016 Agreement whereby the Department recoups the contracted leases costs. There are a number of contracts at the pending stage and we are continuing to interview RAS applicants to assess their eligibility for the scheme and interested Landlords are being contacted in order to negotiate contracts on a continuous basis. It was envisaged that the scheme would be self financing in the longer term and the ongoing costs of administering it, including staff,office accommodation costs, legal fees, advertising etc., were to be met out of savings, together with a direct administrative fee for each household managed under the scheme. However, savings from Landlord payments are proving increasingly difficult to negotiate. Under the Private Residential Tenancies Act 2004 local authorities are responsible for enforcement of statutory regulations for Private Rented Accommodation. Also the Partnership Agreement Towards 2016 includes a commitment that the minimum standards regulations for the private rented sector will be undated and effectively enforced. In line with this Roscommon County Council is inspecting private rented accommodation on an ongoing basis and following up landlords with unfit accommodation. Inspections and enforcement proceedings are managed by the RAS staff. An amount of €1,777,200 has been provided to meet the direct costs associated with the scheme in 2009. A08 Housing Loans Applicants can be considered for house purchase loans for persons who did not previously own a dwelling and for reconstruction loans to modify or extend existing houses. Applicants must meet specific income criteria and must be refused loan approval by two commercial lending institutions. The maximum house purchase loan that can be advanced is €185,000 depending on the applicant’s ability to repay and the maximum house improvement loan is €15,000 (unsecured) and €38,000 (secured). Shared Ownership This scheme facilitates access to full home ownership in two or more stages and is designed primarily for first time buyers who meet certain income criteria. Suitable applicants must acquire a minimum equity of 40% in the dwelling initially and rent the Council’s equity with an undertaking to acquire the Council’s equity within 25 years. The total number of loans advanced under the Shared Ownership Scheme since its inception is 21. Home Choice Loans Details of the new local authority house purchase loan to be known as Home Choice Loan were announced in October in the context of Budget 2009. Four local authorities, Cork City Council, Dublin City Council, Galway County Council and Kilkenny County Council will be designated as lending authorities acting on a regional basis. These authorities will draw down funds from the Housing Finance Agency and lend on to successful applicants from within their own and other local authority areas within designated regions. The scheme will have no financial implications for this local authority. Home Choice Loan will provide up to 92% of the market value of a property purchased to a maximum of €285,000. The loan is normal Capital and Interest bearing mortgage which is repaid on a monthly basis. The mortgage term will be for a maximum of 30 years. This loan will only be available for newly built homes. A minimum income of €40,000 will apply, and a standard variable interest rate, related to the prevailing rates available from commercial institutions will be applicable (the applicable rate will be determined by the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government). This loan is being made available under the provisions of Section 11 of the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1992 and will be subject to regulations made by the Minister. 32 Roscommon County Council | Comhairle Chontae Ros Comain | Adopted Budget 2009 | For year ended 31st December 2009
Page 1 and 2: Roscommon County Council Comhairle
Page 3 and 4: Manager’s Foreword Manager’s Fo
Page 5 and 6: Manager’s Foreword Due to the bud
Page 7 and 8: Manager’s Foreword overall quantu
Page 9 and 10: Manager’s Foreword Conclusion I w
Page 11 and 12: Overall Summary | Overall Summary S
Page 13 and 14: Overall Summary | How Money is Spen
Page 15 and 16: Overall Summary | Comparison of Yea
Page 17 and 18: 16 Roscommon County Council | Comha
Page 19 and 20: Statutory Tables | Table A TABLE A
Page 21 and 22: Statutory Tables | Table B Table B
Page 23 and 24: Statutory Tables | Table B y g g Ta
Page 25 and 26: Statutory Tables | Table D Table D
Page 27 and 28: Statutory Tables | Table F Table F
Page 29 and 30: Division A | Housing and Building A
Page 31: Division A | Housing and Building A
Page 35 and 36: Division A | Housing and Building H
Page 37 and 38: Division A | Housing and Building I
Page 39 and 40: Division B | Roads, Transportation
Page 47 and 48: Division C | Water Services C Water
Page 49 and 50: Division C | Water Services C06 Sup
Page 51 and 52: Division C | Water Services Income
Page 53 and 54: Division D | Development Management
Page 61 and 62: Division E | Environmental Services
Page 69 and 70: Division F | Recreation and Amenity
Page 71 and 72: Division F | Recreation and Amenity
Page 75 and 76: Division G | Agriculture, Education
Page 77 and 78: Division G | Agriculture, Education
Page 79 and 80: Division H | Miscellaneous Services
Page 81 and 82: Division H | Miscellaneous Services
Page 83 and 84:
Division H | Miscellaneous Services
Page 85 and 86:
Appendix 1 | Summary of Central Man
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Annual Budget 2009 - Roscommon County Council

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