The Georgetown Mayor and City Council (M&CC) has made an estimated $667,000 from the metered parking project, according to Deputy Mayor Sherod Duncan.
At the beginning of March, the M&CC had announced that it had received its 20% earnings for January and February from contractor Smart City Solutions (SCS) but opted not to disclose the sum.
However, Duncan, in a post on his personal Facebook page, revealed that the earnings for that period currently stood at approximately $667, 804. This falls short of the previously projected revenue of $13M per month.
The metered parking project has generated months of controversy and its implementation was greeted with a boycott by citizens in addition to protests and legal action.
The M&CC, in press statement, had explained that its 20 percent cut is taken from the gross earnings of the project and that the Council has no responsibility for expenses related to it as all expenses are borne by SCS.
The statement also said that money from the project was earmarked for certain civil works, including upgrading existing council roads and constructing new ones, developing sidewalks and pavements for pedestrians, cleaning and sustaining drains and canals related to roads, bridges and foot paths and a city transport system, particularly for children and senior citizens.
“The money is needed to enhance the council’s very narrow revenue base to provide a wide range of vital municipal services to local communities and the city as a whole,” it said, while mentioning public and environmental health services, street lighting, maternal and child welfare services, maintenance of cemeteries, enforcement of the city building codes and by-laws, and the creation of open spaces, parks and recreational facilities.
