Alfie Dallas has urged MLAs to reinstate adequate rate support for poorer councils like Derry whose ratepayers experience much higher poundages than elsewhere in the North.

Mr. Dallas reminded the Stormont Economy Committee how the Rates Support Grant, which is supposed to provide support to less affluent council areas, has been decimated over the past decade.

"It used to be a figure of £20.5m regionally. It is now £3m and as a council we are entitled to 23.46 per cent so you can imagine the impact that has had on ratepayers in our area,” the DC&SDC Lead Finance Officer said.

He told the committee that rates are supposed to be a wealth-based tax based on property values.

Alfie Dallas has urged MLAs to reinstate adequate rate support for poorer councils like Derry whose ratepayers experience much higher poundages than elsewhere in the North.

placeholder image — Alfie Dallas has urged MLAs to reinstate adequate rate support for poorer councils like Derry whose ratepayers experience much higher poundages than elsewhere in the North.

"The theory is that a ratepayer somewhere in this country that has a lower property value should pay lower rates than somebody with a higher property value. Unfortunately that is not the case and it is certainly not the case in council areas like ours,” said Mr. Dallas.

Derry and Strabane is among seven councils in the North who receive funding by way of the RSG.

“When we compare those seven councils to the other four one of the statistics that jumps out is that the domestic district rate poundages in those areas are 19.7 per cent higher than in the other four councils. 19.7 per cent is a very significant figure.

“Essentially that means ratepayers in those areas pay a 19.7 per cent higher percentage of their property values in district rates.

“In our council with the highest entitlement to the grant based on our overall wealth and deprivation statistics our rates poundages are actually 37.9 per cent higher than the NI average,” he said.

Mr. Dallas made the observations while providing evidence to the committee on SDLP MLA Sinéad McLaughlin’s proposed Regional Balance Bill.

The council strongly supported the principle and policy intent of the bill, he said, adding that he believed the legislation could be used to examine reform of the rating system.

Earlier this year as DC&SDC set its rate the Lead Finance Officer explained how the district had the lowest average property values in the North and was obliged to strike a higher rate poundage than wealthier regions to generate the same level of income for services.