Sooba condemns Mayor’s actions over Easter Day revenue collection

Apr 23, 2014 News

Town Clerk, (ag) Carol Sooba has condemned the actions of Mayor Hamilton Green, whom she claimed sabotaged the Easter Monday Revenue collection exercise by law enforcement officers along the Georgetown Seawall.

Georgetown Mayor Hamilton Green

Town Clerk (ag)
Carol Sooba

According to Sooba, the actions of the Mayor show that he has descended to “an all-time low” in order to tarnish her reputation as well as the reputation of her staff.
On Monday, Mayor Green and a small group of councilors clashed with city constables and police ranks who were demanding money from vendors and citizens who had erected structures along the vicinity.
The showdown was a result of an ongoing controversy among officials of the council on whether citizens should have paid for the occupation of spots along the seawall route on the Rupert Craig Highway.
Mayor Green had initially instructed the public not to pay a cent for spots on the seawall on Easter Monday, while Sooba insisted that citizens must pay.
However despite the disagreement, the Mayor and a group of Councilors claimed to have ‘stumbled upon an incident’, whereby officers were demanding as much as $20,000 from persons who had erected canopies along the area, to partake in the Easter festivities. Green intervened and insisted the people are not supposed to pay for the spots.
However during a press conference yesterday, Sooba claimed that the Mayor, accompanied by his bodyguards, allegedly took away the keys to the vehicle which was transporting city constables and told vendors and other citizens not to pay any rates to the council. Sooba alleged that the Mayor and his team also took away some of the money, leaving her staff traumatized.
She told reporters that the council had since written to the Local Government Minister, Norman Whittaker, to have the matter sorted out, and it is up to the police to level criminal charges against the Mayor, as statements were made the Alberttown Police Station about what transpired.
Sooba maintains that the sale of these spots has been an ongoing exercise for over two decades. The money she claimed usually assists with the expenses of preparatory works and the cleaning of the area after the festivities.
Mayor Green has since denied the allegations, but noted that the council is still seeking to pursue legal action with regards to the Town Clerk.