Rates dilemma as deadline nears

It is understood that councillors will have to achieve huge cuts in their budget to stave off a big rates rise this year or else keep their current service provision the same and hit ratepayers in the pocket with a big rise to pay for it.

Councillors are believed to have spent at least seven hours in the one meeting last week to try to advance the situation and another meeting is due this week.

The Council has been holding its rates meetings behind closed doors and they have not yet made the current state of play available to the public.

However, a source had claimed the rates were brought down from a 22 per cent rise to 9.93 per cent.

Another meeting was held on Tuesday February 2 and it was alleged that even though the meeting lasted around seven hours councillors were unable to take much off the 9.93 per cent rise.

Meanwhile, the Times understands that one area which will be suffer is the area of sports development with a post not being replaced.

And if there is a freeze on capital projects being included in the rates there will be anger in places like Cloughmills.

As well as that sources said there is a "climate of fear" amongst council workers over the prospect of redundancies as part of any cutbacks.