Latest update February 10th, 2025 2:25 PM
Cash-flow problems hurt City Hall
…could delay payment of municipal workers again – Town Clerk
Cash-flow problems at City Hall this month will more than likely see workers not being paid their salaries on the stipulated pay date again.
Last month, more than 60 percent of the municipal workers who are represented by the Guyana Labour Union (GLU) had engaged industrial action in the form of a sit-in to protest against the municipality’s inability to pay them.
Town Clerk (ag), Yonette Pluck-Cort
The action was engaged, according to General Secretary of the Union, Carvil Duncan, because the municipality had not advised the union that it could not pay on time.
Salaries at the entity should be payable by the 25th day of each month, an obligation the municipality is rarely able to meet due to consistent financial challenges.
At a media briefing yesterday Town Clerk, Mrs Yonette Pluck-Cort, revealed that although the entity has been able to manage during the earlier part of this month despite some constraints, it is now unable to meet some of its financial obligations. She related that the municipality is experiencing some difficulties and anticipates that the workers may not be paid before next week Tuesday. She disclosed that both workers and the unions that represent them have been so advised.
Pluck-Cort said that the municipality has been experiencing cash flow problems thus there has been a shortfall in the entity’s anticipated revenue collection. She explained that the Treasurer’s Department, which is responsible for the collection of taxes which constitutes approximately 80 percent of the finances of the council, has reported the shortfall situation. “We have not been getting the kind of response we anticipated. We have some fixed expenditures that we must meet on a monthly basis and the monies we have received so far this month does not give an indication that we will meet some of our expenses on a timely basis for this month.”
However, it is the Town Clerk’s belief that the entity would be able to recover from its difficulties shortly, once matters that are before the courts yield the expected results.
“We have been able to settle with some of the persons who we had taken to court before and we have been stepping up our drive with the assistance of the City Constabulary which has been involved in getting errand tax payers to come forward and make their payments.”
“We are appealing to persons, even though they have not been served summons, to attend court. We have served demand notices so persons know they are in default. We are asking them to come in and make their payments to the Treasurer’s Department so that we can be able to offer better services to citizens.”
And the municipality is willing to work out agreements with residents who are in arrears and are unable to make payments, Pluck-Cort noted.
She said that such residents can visit the municipality and a plan can be worked out which could see them making payments over a period of time.
The Town Clerk added that while the residents can make yearly payments they could also opt to make payments on a quarterly basis and not be in default.
But in order to arrest the current financial problems, Pluck-Cort said that the municipality is considering putting some new systems in place to deal with the delivery of service to the citizenry of Georgetown.
In this regard, she said that the Treasurer has been tasked along with other department heads, to make proposals.
Additionally, she revealed that the municipality will be incorporating some recommendations made by Commissioner of Inquiry, Mr Keith Burrowes, measures she anticipates will see an improvement in the entity’s ability to make accurate projections in the long run.
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