Councillors quarrel over Christmas incentive to some employees
GEORGETOWN City Councillors challenged Council’s Treasurer Andrew Meredith, on Wednesday, to explain why he paid a ‘Christmas incentive’ to staff within his department but failed to have salaries ready, before the holidays, for some of the ‘poorest and most hard-working’ category of employees.
Asked, at a raucous statutory meeting, who authorised the payment of the encouragement and what facilitated it to a specific group of workers, the embattled Meredith declared that the recent amnesty period facilitated it.
Mayor Hamilton Green interrupted him, insisting that he answer the specific questions put to him.
Meredith then claimed that the authorisation was from the Finance Committee but that reply was vehemently objected to by Councillor Junior Garrett, a member of that Committee. “Never! We never authorised it. Nowhere in the law says that the Committee could authorise the payments of incentives,” Garrett shouted.
Garrett was delegated by several councillors Wednesday, to deal with the vouchers that are usually dealt with by the Finance Committee, in view of Deputy Mayor Robert Williams, who is the Chairman, being ill in the Caribbean Heart Institute (CHI) at Georgetown Public Hospital (GPH).
Councillors requested that Garrett take the responsibility as several of them found it “ridiculous” that cheques were being taken to the hospital for Williams to sign.
Councillor Ranwell Jordan recommended that Garrett be the person to man the municipality’s finances in view of the many occasions, in the past, when mismanagement of funds occurred and fingers were pointed at Williams.
Still on the point of what facilitated the questionable payout to his department only, Meredith stated that there were some hiccups in the system that were corrected and the other workers should have gotten their salaries by yesterday afternoon.
Councillor Gwendoline Mc Gowan vociferously proposed that Meredith should be sent home and accused Green of “picking up” for him.
CHRISTMAS MEAL
Another councillor, Patricia Chase-Green said she could have understood if no one in the municipality was paid but what she could not understand was the fact that those who do all of the “dirty work” did not take home salaries to have a Christmas meal.  Garrett suggested that the extra money that was paid be deducted from the beneficiaries’ pay and alleged that what took place was fraud.
He said the Treasurer and Town Clerk Yonnette Pluck should be held culpable for signing those cheques and that jail should be involved.
“Immediately, the Treasurer and the Town Clerk should be suspended,” Garrett demanded.
Councillor Ian Andrews said he never heard such a “preposterous and disrespectful” presentation by the Treasurer, an individual whom he once held in high regard.
Councillor Hector Stoute said there should be an investigation into the issue and Green agreed, noting that such matters must be put in writing so there could be proper procedures.
“So, if you want to make noise, it’s a matter for you. Shouting is nice but to what end?” the Mayor enquired. 
Mc Gowan said putting it in writing would not help the situation and she maintained that the Treasurer and Town Clerk be relieved of their duties immediately.  “We can’t trust him anymore,” she said, referring to Meredith.
Councillor Fitzgerald Agard, who met with much criticism for the comments he offered, said there was no dishonesty involved in the payments and that it was not a case where the Council lost anything.