The Mayor and City Council (M&CC) collected in excess of $174 million in rates during the month of October, almost three times the $59 million collected for the corresponding period in 2014.
This is according to a report from the City Treasurer’s Department made public at yesterday’s statutory meeting.
The increase in revenue, according to Town Clerk Royston King is a direct result of the amnesty and the public confidence in the council’s ability to deliver to taxpayers the services due.
Speaking on the amnesty, Counsellor Junior Garret explained that the council has been able to collect in excess of $561 million over the almost three months it has been in effect.
On September 1, M&CC began offering property owners of Georgetown an amnesty on the interest accumulated on property rates owed to the council. The amnesty, which was originally offered from the Septem-ber 1 to 30, provides those who are in arrears with the M&CC an opportunity to clear their debt.
In September, the amnesty was able to generate $320 million. Amid complaints about the inefficiency of the City Treasurer’s Department a decision was taken to extend the amnesty to October 31. A further extension was granted, according to Public Relations Officer Debra Lewis, as a direct result of the overwhelming res-ponse of residents, the request by several residents to afford them an opportunity to obtain documents such as proof of ownership as well as the inability of several residents, mostly pensioners, to raise the principal. This extension, which the M&CC said is the last, comes to an end on November 30.
Under the amnesty, residential property owners have a 100% waiver on the interest of the rates they owe to the council while commercial and corporate property owners are offered a 50% to 75% waiver, dependent on special circumstances.
A committee of counsellors led by Garret continues to meet commercial property owners to determine the extent of the amnesty to be offered them.
According to M&CC’s records 23% ($40 million) of the generated revenue has been used to pay wages and salaries.
King explained that the majority of the collected revenue is being filtered back into the community through the massive desilting and community lead clean-up campaign currently underway.
On November 6, the council launched a project designed to engender ownership among members of the communities within Georgetown.
This project employs members of the community as part of an initiative to keep their community clean. Fifty groups of young people were engaged to begin cleaning and to maintain the cleanliness of their surroundings.
According to reports made to the statutory meeting it is expected that each of these projects will cost roughly $1.5 million for a total of $75 million, while a sum of $80 million has been set aside for the cleaning of Le Repentir Cemetery.
