A dispute between Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael over which party should hold the mayor's job next year has become the main obstacle to Sligo Corporation adopting a book of estimates, leaving the local authority at risk of being abolished. A majority of councillors from both parties have agreed that a huge hike in refuse charges should be avoided by privatising the service, but both are demanding the mayor's job next year.
A pact between Fianna Fáil and Sinn Féin, in place since the last local elections, which provided for the rotation of the mayor and deputy mayor posts between the two parties, has collapsed.
The corporation failed to meet a deadline of December 26th to agree the estimates, despite convening a special meeting on St Stephen's Day. The Minister for the Environment must now decide whether to give an extension of time or to abolish the local authority.
In the event of abolition, a commissioner would be appointed to run the town. The last local authority to be abolished was Naas Urban District Council in the mid- 1980s and Dublin Corporation was also abolished in the 1970s.
Given that it is an election year and Fianna Fáil is the largest party in the corporation, it is thought unlikely that Noel Dempsey will opt for abolition at this stage.However, no progress appears have been made since the St Stephen's Day meeting and neither Fianna Fáil nor Fine Gael councillors seem ready to concede the mayor's job for next year.
The current Fianna Fáil mayor, Jude Devins, said it was his priority to get the issue resolved but added that Fianna Fáil could "not be dictated to by a smaller party".
"It makes logistical sense that in any new agreement the bigger party is entitled to more - that is always the way," Mr Devins said.
Mr Matt Lyons of Fine Gael said it was "quite reasonable" for it to demand the mayor's job next year given that Fianna Fáil had held it for two of the past three years. He accepted that the row created a bad image of the corporation and described as "silly" the behaviour of Fianna Fáil councillors. "If we found ourselves in the same position as Fianna Fáil, we would not hold on to this issue."
Meanwhile the original problem, the refuse charges, seems set to be resolved by privatisation, a policy to which the three Sinn Féin and two Labour councillors are opposed, and with only two of three Fine Gael members willing to enter the agreement with Fianna Fáil.
The original estimates recommended that refuse charges be increased from £148 to £350 to meet the increased costs of taking waste to a landfill site in Ballina, Co Mayo, where all of Sligo's refuse is now taken. Mr Devins and Mr Lyons both said they believed private operators could provide the service at a cheaper rate.
Mr Declan Bree of Labour said other money from the Department of the Environment could be diverted to pay for refuse collection. A major part of the problem was that "no serious initiative" had been taken to reduce landfill dependency and to encourage recycling.
Mr Seán MacManus of Sinn Féin said his party could not support privatisation. It had agreed to the £148 charge last year on the basis that there were waivers for low-income households.