| …will be pursued vigorously in Municipal Court-GarrettThe aggressive pursuit of delinquent taxpayers and restoring Georgetown as the “Garden City”Junior Garrettwas highlighted among City Hall’s primary objectives this year.This was revealed yesterday as Junior Garrett, Chairman of the Mayor and City Council’s Finance Committee,Baseball Jerseys Nike From China, continued the reading of the Municipality’s $1.9B budget, which was approved on Monday last.While there was a quorum for yesterday’s meeting, the division of the Councilors on the budget continued unabated.At yesterday’s session, Mayor Hamilton Green and 19 of the 30 Councilors were absent.On Monday last during the unveiling of the proposed annual budget Garrett was forced to discontinue as several councilors departed resulting in there being no quorum.According to Garrett,Cheap NFL Jerseys China, for Georgetown to be recognized once again as the “Garden City” and not as the “Garbage City,Air Max Australia,” City Hall needs to be run like a business, providing taxpayers’ value for their money.“This City is a business; it is not a political arm. There are some people who don’t like change and believe it would be business as usual…This City needs a revival to be the “Garden City” and it could be done with a corps of dedicated Councilors here today,” Garrett said.Garrett emphasized that City Hall requires an aggressive Debt Collection Department, given that tax collection remains the city’s main source of revenue which is necessary to achieve the transformation envisioned.He said that instead of waiving interest this year, the Council would aggressively pursue delinquent taxpayers.He explained that a notice would be placed in the print media requesting an audience with the taxpayers.“If that taxpayer refuses to meet the Council and discuss payments he or she would be taken to Court.”As such, the Council would try to obtain the services of a Municipal Magistrate, to expedite the cases, Garrett noted.He stated that there are some persons who want to conduct business as usual at City Hall “but to make this budget a Citizens’ Budget it would be monitored monthly.”This would facilitate the relevant checks and balances and correction where necessary.Garrett asserted that there would be the establishment of a Procurement Commission ensuring that all works are tendered for.There will also be the creation of an Oversight Committee for the City’s Engineer’s Department.According to Gwendolyn McGowan, Senior Councilor, it is essential that City Hall restores Georgetown as the “Garden City.”She congratulated Garrett for crafting a budget that represents the needs of all departments.McGowan lauded the fact that the budget will be monitored on a monthly basis, but pointed to the need for revaluation of buildings in and around Georgetown.She emphasized that the budget may appear to be small, “but small things have large action.”Also commenting on the size of the budget, Deputy Mayor,Wholesale College Jerseys China, Chase-Green, who chaired the meeting, emphasized that it represents what the Council could afford.She stressed that it is unwise to prepare a budget for $425B whilst the Council’s income is about $1.5B.Green stated that the budget prepared, allows the Council to spend within its means and prevent the creation of huge debts.She urged those displeased with the budget, to work with Council putting aside their differences and help restore the Capital City.During an interview with Mayor Hamilton Green,Jerseys Wholesale, following Monday’s meeting, he stated, “The budget is being presented in circumstances that did not gain consensus from the Councilors…That is why people walked out of the meeting.”He stressed that there is a problem with the philosophical presentation of the budget.“We have to settle what we want to achieve in an unusual environment…I don’t know how you can boast it’s the smallest budget when the prices of things have gone up,” Green stated.He related that there are problems sourcing credible information from sections of the Administration.In addition, before cutting expenditure it would have been wise to look at areas that affect communities,Cheap Jerseys From China, the City Mayor noted.The Mayor admitted that Department Heads and Councilors were consulted to foster the creation of the budget.Green has however claimed that discussions were never finalized with the Councilors.He asserted that certain liabilities should have been added to the budget. For instance,Cheap NFL Jerseys China, “I wanted us to include in the budget exemptions given to individuals from the Minister of Local Government and City Hall for the past two years.”Green stressed that this information would have allowed citizens to better understand the circumstances under which the Council operates. |
