M&CC aiming for $500 M increase in property rates

Georgetown :An increase of property rates has been listed among the areas being considered by the Mayor and City Councillors of Georgetown (M&CC) in order to widen its meagre revenue base.  This proposal was discussed at length Monday when the municipality held its most recent statutory meeting. A number of other avenues to generate new revenues were also considered as were welfare matters with respect to workers. “Council has over the years been working with a very narrow revenue base and even with that base we have had to carry a very heavy burden because of the number of services and facilities required to provide for the city and citizens of Georgetown,” Public Relations Officer Royston King noted during an interview with this publication.
City Hall recently unveiled a proposed $2.5 Billion budget for next year which has improved delivery of service as the main focus. And even as discussions progress as it relates to the budget, King said, that Council intends to keep the public well informed as it relates to the possible increase in property rates and other allied matters.
The financial state of the municipality, King said, is currently not in an healthy state and is in fact a situation where “we are struggling to meet basic expenses such as payment of wages and salaries, our utility bills and other really basic things; we are still struggling to meet these because of our very narrow revenue base.”
King opined too that rate payers have not been coming in to honour their civic obligation and in spite of “us granting amnesty we still have big businesses that have not paid one cent into this Council for the past two to three years.” However, while there are some businesses that have been reneging on their responsibility King acknowledged that Council has been able to collaborate well with the Private Sector over the last year and even in previous years. “They have been very kind to us and have been helping us in the area of solid waste management…they have pitched in time and again to help us…Chris Fernandes and a number of other members of the private sector have been assisting us but that is not sufficient for us to meet all the needs of the city and its populace,” King asserted.
He pointed out that the Council is in need of a broad revenue base where the provision of services and facilities can be effectively managed.  In light of this King said that the Council is hoping to attain at the minimum a $500 Million increase in taxes. He alluded to the fact that while the law provides for an increase in taxes the Council has not been able to introduce an increase since 1987.