Govt. owes Millions to M&CC - Mayor

Govt. owes Millions to M&CC – Mayor

Jul 15, 2010 News

– Haags Bosch to open in October

Government is yet to pay it rates and taxes for the second and third quarter, and this has placed the Mayor and City Council (M&CC) in a further cash strapped state since the almost $2B new landfill at Haags Bosch will not be ready in time for August 1 as earlier anticipated. This is according to the Mayor Hamilton Green.
“Exercise care in the disposal of your waste at this time of crisis…As you dispose of your waste particularly food related items, you should sprinkle a solution of formalin or jase fluid so as to discourage bacteria that have piled up over time.”
According to the Mayor, the site at Le Repentir will have to be maintained for another additional period. Equipment and additional financial resources will be needed, adding a burden to the Mayor and City Council (M&CC). “Measures are being put into place for the facility to start receiving solid waste in October.”
The Mayor explained that a site will either have to be found to take the garbage or “as is now being proposed we would have to go higher; we expect that the powers that be will take into account this fact and provide the appropriate resources needed.”
He stressed that the M&CC is still responsible for receiving and storing garbage from outside the geographic boundaries of Georgetown and this contributes to the crisis.
Adding that the existing taxes cannot carry the many services the council is required to provide, the Mayor said, adding that the Government being the main property owner in Georgetown, “has been the most delinquent… the Government has not yet paid its taxes for the second and third quarter which are already payable in June.”
Stating that the council is pressured by having fewer avenues of resources, Green related the Government removed the obligation to pay the arrear taxes by legislation. “By that act alone we lost $76M by the stroke of a pen.”
Green said that several agencies, public and private, were taken to court for non- payment of taxes and “the wheels of the Judiciary grind very slowly.”
The Mayor revealed that one of the non-compliant buildings is Guynet which is leased by a Para-state agency. It owes the M&CC some $79M in taxes. It is before the courts. “The milk plant in Kingston owes $62M…the Fisheries Limited owes $121M.”
After apologizing for the state of the city the Mayor said for the past two weeks he has tried contacting the Minister of Finance. “I hope by the end of the day (yesterday) the town clerk and treasurer will report to me so I can report to the chairman of the finance committee that we have received a cheque for the second and third quarter which is due and payable.”
He said that after meeting the Minister he questioned why Government has not considered making an amendment so that taxes can be collected from the educational institutions “which don’t pay a cent taxes to us but generate waste. We have to provide services; the list is long and it comes up to hundreds of millions of dollars.”