The City Council will meet next week to discuss the local authority’s €75 million budget for 2017.
The draft budget represents a decrease in spending of over €1.6 million for next year.
Councillors will gather on Monday to discuss the document – which will determine how the Council’s funds for 2017 are spent.
As well as a cut in funding, the Council is also faced with a workforce which has suffered a cut of 18 percent since 2008.
Commercial rates are estimated to contribute 45% of the council’s net annual income – and collection percentages currently stand at around 75%.
Meanwhile, the Council look set to maintain its 50% rates requirement for vacant commercial properties.
The 2017 draft budget includes a recommended allocation of €18.3 million for housing maintenance and building.
This fund includes €5.7 million for maintenance of local authority housing, €2.1 million for homeless services and €461,000 for the Housing Assistance Programme. €12 million is proposed for road transport and safety across the city.
The allocation includes €1.2 million for parking, and almost €3 million for traffic management.
A total of over €163,000 has been ringfenced for the development and promotion of tourism.
€16 million will be spent next year on recreation and amenity – including operation of leisure facilities, the library service and the Council’s arts programme.
In terms of income, during 2016 the Council took in over €7.5 million in rents from social housing. It’s expected this figure will rise to almost €8 million for 2017.
Parking fines and charges raised €3.4 million for the local authority last year – this year, the Council expects to bring in almost €3.9 million under this heading.
Other income includes €3 million from Irish Water, €408,000 in planning fees and €12,000 from domestic refuse charges.
The Council also expects to receive government grants and subsidies worth over €12.2 million next year – down from the 2016 figure of over €13.4 million.
City Chief Executive Brendan McGrath says improvements in the economy are not being seen in some regions – and as a result, certain economic services in Galway ‘remain depressed.’
He says the City Council needs to review and modernise how it does business in a bid to deal with the challenges faced by the local authority.