Finance Department
The key objective in the Finance Department is to ensure the highest standards of financial management pertain within Sligo County Council and that the financial systems and procedures promote efficient and effective resource management, within the overall policies and objectives of the Council.
The Finance Department deals with the short and long term financing of the Council’s operations both of a revenue and capital nature.
Tom Kilfeather, Head of Finance
This involves:-
- Monitoring and controlling income and expenditure in all areas
- Arranging borrowing and leasing requirements and
- Investment of funds
The Finance Department also ensures that statutory and financial accounting principles, which apply to all money, paid to, or by, the Council are complied with.
The Council’s revenue or day-to-day expenditure is defrayed from sources such as:-
- Commercial rates
- Government grants
- Various other forms of income such as housing rents, planning application fees, commercial water charges etc.
The amount of capital money available is dependent on Government allocations in the areas of Housing, Roads and Environmental Services.
The Annual Financial Statements set out hereunder are prepared in accordance with the statutory regulations governing the accounts of Local Authorities. Both the Income and expenditure Account and the Balance Sheet are prepared on an income and expenditure basis.
Prompt Payments Act
The Prompt Payments of Account Act 1997 and the European Communities (Late Payment in Commercial Transactions) Regulations 2002 aims to ensure that all Public Bodies and Contractors on public sector contracts pay amounts due to suppliers promptly. In the event of a payment not being made within a 30 day period from the date of receipt of their invoice, there is an obligation to pay an interest penalty.
Constant monitoring of the level and nature of outstanding invoices was conducted throughout the year and action was taken where appropriate to ensure compliance with the Act and Regulations.
INCOME AND EXPENDITURE ACCOUNT STATEMENT FOR YEAR ENDED 31st DECEMBER 2004
The Income and Expenditure Account Statement brings together all the revenue related income and expenditure. It shows the surplus/ (deficit) for the year.
| Expenditure by Programme Group | Gross Expenditure 2004(€) | Net Income 2004 (€) | Net Expenditure 2004 (€) | Expenditure 2003 (€) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | 2,387,954 | 2,175,761 | 212,193 | 597,328 |
| Road Transportation and Safety | 16,808,519 | 13,054,126 | 3,754,393 | 3,611,535 |
| Water Supply and Sewerage | 5,397,361 | 1,504,876 | 3,892,485 | 2,692,460 |
| Development Incentives and Controls | 2,904,753 | 1,224,753 | 1,680,000 | 1,639,746 |
| Environmental Protection | 4,262,186 | 871,799 | 3,390,387 | 3,087,191 |
| Recreation and Amenity | 2,508,258 | 289,011 | 2,219,247 | 1,783,421 |
| Agriculture Education Health and Welfare | 4,197,649 | 3,537,421 | 660,228 | 536,942 |
| Miscellaneous Services | 5,287,487 | 3,213,515 | 2,073,972 | 801,576 |
| Support Services | - | - | - | - |
| Total Expenditure/Income | 43,754,167 | 25,871,262 | ||
| Net Cost of Programmes to be funded from | ||||
| Rates and Local Government Fund | 17,882,905 | 14,750,199 | ||
| Local Government Fund | 13,910,355 | 11,131,302 | ||
| County Rates | 3,140,510 | 2,829,046 | ||
| County Demand | 2,352,000 | 2,099,988 | ||
| Surplus/(Deficit) for Year before | 1,519,960 | 1,310,137 | ||
| Transfers from/(to) Reserves | (1,409,362) | (1,186,895) | ||
| Overall Surplus/(Deficit) for Year | 110,598 | 123,242 | ||
| General Reserve at 1st January | (1,936,677) | (2,059,919) | ||
| General Reserve at 31st December | (1,826,079) | (1,936,677) | ||
BALANCE SHEET AS AT 31ST DECEMBER 2004
| 2004 € | 2003 € | |
|---|---|---|
| Fixed Assets | ||
| Operational | 183,539,876 | 176,331,098 |
| Infrastructural | 1,285,276,361 | 1,288,278,712 |
| Community | 8,890,420 | 8,890,420 |
| Non-Operational | ||
| Total | 1,477,706,657 | 1,473,500,230 |
| Work-in-Progress and Preliminary Expenses | 129,474,890 | 101,280,266 |
| Long Term Debtors | 19,623,892 | 18,346,710 |
| Current Assets | ||
| Stock | 184,150 | 168,359 |
| Trade Debtors and Prepayments | 6,549,925 | 3,474,926 |
| Bank Investments | 1,141,299 | 549,988 |
| Cash at Bank | 2,785,854 | 181,865 |
| Cash on Hand | 467 | 467 |
| Urban Account | 1,256,446 | 1,322,575 |
| Total | 11,918,141 | 5,698,180 |
| Current Liabilities | ||
| Bank Overdraft | - | - |
| Creditors and Accruals | 6,409,671 | 6,323,038 |
| Finance Leases | - | - |
| Total | 6,409,671 | 6,323,038 |
| Net Current Assets/(Liabilities) | 5,508,470 | (624,858) |
| Creditors (Amounts greater than one year) | ||
| Loans Payable | 49,156,588 | 50,498,771 |
| Finance Leases | - | - |
| Refundable Deposits | 996,896 | 600,422 |
| Other | - | - |
| Total | 50,153,484 | 51,099,193 |
| Net Assets/(Liabilities) | 1,582,160,425 | 1,541,403,155 |
| Financed By | ||
| Capitalisation Account | 1,477,706,657 | 1,473,500,232 |
| Income WIP | 132,110,758 | 97,348,715 |
| Specific Revenue Reserve | 1,707,152 | 1,707,150 |
| General Revenue Reserve | (1,826,079) | (1,936,677) |
| Reserve | - | - |
| Other Balances | (27,538,063) | (29,216,265) |
| Total Reserves | 1,582,160,425 | 1,541,403,155 |
MOTOR TAXATION OFFICE
This Motor Taxation Office at Cleveragh Road, Sligo and Tubbercurry provides a quality service to the customer. Recent Surveys have shown that 18% of our customers avail of the Motor Tax Postal service, with 82% of customers calling directly to our Offices.
The Motor Tax On-Line Service operated by the VRU commenced issuing Motor Tax discs for Private Motor Vehicles in March 2004 and caters for 9% of the customers in County Sligo.
The following Statistics show our business for 2004 and 2003.
Number of Transactions 2003-2004
| 2004 | 2003 | |
|---|---|---|
| Road Taxes | 47,741 | 49,433 |
| Roadworthiness Certs | 2,765 | 2,482 |
| Driving Licences | 8,313 | 9,974 |
| Miscellaneous | 5,945 | 5,751 |
| Total | 64,764 | 67,650 |
| Total Receipts | €9,467,354 | €9,959,142 |
