Owners of properties listed in a notice from the Mayor and City Council have begun to come forward and payment plans for property rates owed are currently being worked out says Debra Lewis, the council’s spokeswoman.
The council is currently encouraging property owners to come forward and clear their debts which have been owing for years. A full page notice published in all four daily newspapers on January 27, listed 34 properties from West Ruimveldt Industrial Site, Meadow Bank/Houston, Werk-en-Rust, Liliendaal, Charlestown, Kingston and Lacytown, which collectively owe the city the sum of $6,709,997,688.
According to Lewis, they are giving owners the opportunity to come forward and talk with the council before legal action is taken.
At the last Statutory meeting on January 23, a motion was passed by the council, for the city to begin taking delinquent owners to court, in order to claim taxes owed to the city.
The motion was tabled by 90-year-old Councillor James Samuels and seconded by Councillor Welton Clarke both of the APNU+AFC coalition.
The councillor decided to table the motion after realizing that the M&CC remains cash strapped, despite offering amnesty programmes with several extensions, in 2015 and 2016, which waived the interest on rates owed to the city.
Samuels argued that they have been elected by the people to represent them and make changes in the communities, and if they cannot show changes then they have not represented the electorate, “whole heartedly.” He added that strict measures must be taken against those who still owe millions of dollars.
“They can’t want to build a bungalow and can’t afford to buy a box of matches,” he said, adding that if the council enforces the law on property owners, it would send a disciplined message to the younger generation.
Councillor Malcolm Ferreira of Team Legacy spoke against the motion and asked if the City Council had exhausted all other measures to collect moneys owed by property owners.
“Before we head to the courts, have we fully exhausted all means and methods of encouraging citizens to pay up? What was the true response to the last amnesty on interest campaign that was extended? We have heard that the courts generally favour homeowners in cases that actually meet the courts, so should this be passed, we will need to ask ourselves, what support is necessary for the administration to expertly compile, prepare, present, argue and convince the presiding officer to render judgement in favour of the city?” he questioned.
Councillor Carolyn Murray-Caesar of Team Legacy and Ferreira abstained from voting on the motion, along with Councillor Selwyn Smartt from Team Benschop for Mayor.
Councillors Bisham Kuppen and Kwame Sharma of the People’s Progressive Party moved against the motion, while 12 councillors of the APNU+AFC voted in favour of the motion.
