The Chief Executive of Belfast City Council has said a proposal to freeze rates for the city tax payers is “not competent.”
At the council ’s recent Standards and Business Committee, People Before Profit tabled a motion calling for no change to what rate payers from homes and businesses across the city will be paying in the next financial year. There has been speculation in recent months that the 2.99% rate rise for 2022/23 could go up to double figures next year, culminating in the highest council tax rise the city has seen.
The People Before Profit motion was deemed “incompetent” by Chief Executive John Walsh, while City Solicitor Nora Largey highlighted two offending paragraphs in the motion referring to striking a zero rate. The senior decision effectively counts out anything other than a rates rise next year.
