Members of Lismore Town Council adopted what is to be their last ever budget at a meeting in the town on Monday night. And, given that the town body is to be abolished next year, their budget was for a five month period only.

No commercial rate is being applied for that period, Town Manager Paul Daly advised. There was no point, he said. The county rate will be applied instead. Traditionally businesses in Lismore paid rates over and above the county rate, but that extra levy won’t be applied in the period leading up to abolition.

Members went over the figures for the previous year and agreed expenditure of €29,857.28 was accounted for. They’d gone €5,400 over budget in organising their 400th year anniversary celebrations. “It was money well spent,” Cllr. Jimmy O’Gorman commented.  

Cllr. Davy Whelan proposed the new five-month budget be accepted, seconded by Cllr. Julie Landers.

No allocation was made in their budget for the upkeep of the public toilets for next year, Cllr. Julie Landers was told when she queried it. Instead it’s assumed, and hoped, that the county council will take over.