City Hall introduces amnesty to alleviate $400M shortfall

Oct 22, 2010 News

The Georgetown municipality is currently suffering from a shortfall of over $400M. And in order to offset this challenge, desperate attempts are now being made to reverse the situation.
The municipality is hopeful that an amnesty programme will suffice to remedy the dilemma. There has so far been a satisfactory response to the recent grant of amnesty to defaulting property owners in the city. This is according to Acting Public Relations Officer of the Georgetown Municipality, Debra Lewis.
The Mayor and City Council of Georgetown during its statutory meeting last week Monday took a decision to grant amnesty on interest on property rates. This facility became available to all rate-payers last Friday and is likely to close at the end of next month, Lewis informed.
It was revealed that the shortfall of over $400 million which the council is experiencing has created a situation which is impacting negatively on its ability to deliver critical services to citizens, including drainage, solid waste management and other essential environmental services. It was revealed that “the council just does not have the money. Yet it is what is most needed to provide these services and ensure the integrity of the health of the City of Georgetown.”
As such it is anticipated that the amnesty will assist the council to meet its financial obligations to its employees and other contractors, who deliver municipal services to its citizens, and simultaneously provide an opportunity for those (property-owners) who are experiencing difficulties paying their rates to settle in full all outstanding accounts, at City Hall.
It is the expectation of the municipality that all property-owners, including corporations, companies and businesses, would take full advantage of the facility and liquidate their arrears. In this regard, the City Treasurer will put in place all the appropriate arrangements to minimize waiting time and to ensure that all rate-payers are given good attention, at the City Treasurer’s Department. Lewis revealed that rate payers have been responding favourably to the offer, even as she added that the Council is not likely to extend the amnesty beyond the stated period.
Last year the municipality had employed an amnesty offer and was able to recover more than $200M. That programme had seen the municipality engaging discussions with major businesses and defaulting political entities.
Deputy Mayor Robert Williams had disclosed then that although the political parties had not fulfilled their commitment to pay, the municipality was able to make some agreements with them.
The amnesty move even then was aimed at encouraging defaulting property-owners to fulfill their civic responsibility of paying their property taxes even as they were relieved of accumulated interest over the years. The city entity had introduced a programme in September last year and had planned to have it be completed at the end of the said month. However, although there was no initial intent to continue the amnesty offer then too, a decision was taken to continue it with a view of relieving even more property-owners of accumulated interest and at the same time significantly boosting the municipal revenue base.
“Those who didn’t get a chance to get in on the amnesty before because it was a short period, they were given another chance… After this round we plan on taking people to court like Wild West,” Williams had divulged.

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City Hall introduces amnesty to alleviate $400M shortfall

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