Business Editorial
All of the ills of the City Council cannot, justifiably be laid at the door of the Mayor and Councillors (M&CC) and the city’s public servants. Part of the problem has to do with a high level of delinquency as far as the timely payment of rates and taxes is concerned. And given that rates and taxes is by far the largest slice of City Hall’s revenue, the delinquency of the citizenry is responsible, in large measure, for its revenue shortfall and, consequently, the sub-standard service which it provides.
It transpires, however, that City Hall has to take much of the responsibility for the unknown hundreds of millions of dollars in unpaid rates that remain outstanding. As the Burrowes Commission Report made clear, City Hall’s administration of its rates and taxes collection regime has long been replete with a level of incompetence so remarkable that by the admission of the Deputy Mayor, who is the Chairman of the City’s Finance Committee, the city has no clear idea of the overall outstanding amount or, for that matter, the amounts owed by individuals. This point, among others, was raised by the private sector officials that met Deputy Mayor Robert Williams and a City Council team last week. It was clear that the City Hall team was left completely on the defensive by charges made by the private sector officials that the municipality’s management of the financial affairs of the city is in nothing short of shambles. It appears that, increasingly, a persuasive argument is being made for the financial management of City Hall to be run like a business.
The other concern that has arisen in relation to City’s Hall management of its financial affairs has to do with the fact that it has, for years, been carrying some non-core services. One of these, the running of the Municipal Day Care centres, has been eating into its already meagre resources leaving even less money for the provision of its core services like garbage disposal and road repairs. During his interviews with this newspaper Commissioner Keith Burrowes made particular mention of the inability of City Hall to carry these additional burdens, the significance of their social relevance notwithstanding. Much of what Burrowes and the private sector have been saying amounts to reminding the M&CC of its obligation to provide services for which the recipients are required to pay, but there is much to be said for adopting a more businesslike posture.
It has been suggested that the management of the day-to-day service provision aspects of City Hall’s responsibilities be placed in the hands of a team of qualified business professionals who, while being answerable to the elected officials, would be competent to make the kinds of financial planning administration decisions that would avoid exactly the sorts of problems confronting the city today. Again, the Burrowes Commission Report makes the point that there are serious questions about the ability of strategically placed city public servants to perform their duties effectively. In fact, in his discourses with this newspaper he specifically pointed to what he felt were the many operational weaknesses of what is perhaps the most important department within the municipality, the department responsible for debt recovery.
Meanwhile, as regards the current engagement between City Hall and the private sector regarding the settlement of outstanding rates and taxes by the urban business community, this process is replete with difficulties. If, for example, City Hall is unable to provide a reliable list of defaulters, the private sector bodies would be unable to assist in the process of persuading the defaulters to pay up. Then there is the question of the interest on the outstanding amounts and the signals already been sent by the private sector regarding a possible waiver of that interest. Additionally, there is the argument being made by the private sector that its cooperation would have to premised on a commitment by the municipality that it would begin to provide an improved quality of service. Which comes first, the payment of the outstanding rates and taxes or the improved services to the city, is unclear.