The full extent of charges which are to be passed onto Douglas Borough Council from central government for the forthcoming financial year will be considered at a meeting today.
The extra rate-borne expenditure, triggered by the re-drawing of the VAT revenue sharing agreement with the United Kingdom, was the main reason given by the local authority for its withdrawal from the refurbishment scheme for the Bowl.
Council leader David Christian will consider the implications of the charges for ratepayers at a meeting with officers this afternoon, and the same information will be available to councillors when they sit in public tomorrow, to make a final decision on the Bowl scheme.
Councillor Christian says the extra charges could be substantial, and there is only so much rate-payers can be asked to cover.
He says alarm bells started ringing after the local government minister briefed representatives of all 24 of the Island's local authorities, not long after the 'VAT bombshell' was dropped:
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