The Mayor and City Council has announced that it will be continuing its amnesty offer to all property owners, discounting interest at 50% on demand.
According to a press release from Public Relations Officer Royston King, this offer of a 50% waiver on interest on demand will expire on October 26 this year and the council is hoping to collect $1 billion in outstanding rates.
At the close of collection on Wednesday, the council had collected over $180 million in outstanding rates, while it waived interest on demand in the sum of about $160 million. But the release noted that “regrettably many businesses are still not making full use of this facility.”
This is very troubling for the municipality, the release added, particularly in circumstances where the council is already working with a very narrow revenue base.
Meanwhile, the council said it was pleased with the many home owners who went in and tidied up their accounts. This has provided the municipality with more freedom to provide services such as garbage collection, law enforcement and public health and environmental services, the release added.
