THE Georgetown and Linden municipalities recently facilitated an exchange visit among staff in a bid to learn and share ideas for good management and improvement of services to the citizenry.

The visit was a follow-up, based on a request from Linden Town Clerk Jonellar Bowen, who sought the assistance of the Georgetown City Council.

The officers of the Georgetown municipality were required to work for two days at the Linden municipality, examining systems, policies and procedures in the various departments.

Officers who were part of the exchange visit were required to provide a critical review of the operations of both municipalities. In the evaluation, the team from Georgetown was required to examine strengths, weaknesses and best practices in the various departments.

They were also required to identify similarities and differences in operations between the two municipalities.

Town Clerk Bowen said the Linden Town Council is faced with many challenges, but the two municipalities can work together to craft plausible solutions.

Bowen said the challenges faced by the Linden municipality include having to deal with a narrow revenue base, high staff turnover and the inability of the Linden municipality to attract and retain qualified professionals.

Head of the Region 10 Interim Management Committee Orin Gordon welcomed the group from Georgetown and noted that the visit was a timely one. The Linden municipality, he said, is at the juncture of a political transition.

Gordon also said that the Guyana Association of Municipalities (GAM) and the Town Clerks Association would help the municipality in capacity-building and furtherance of good governance.

GAM was the brainchild of the late Deputy Mayor Robert Williams. It was established to build capacity of local government organisations.

During the discussions, officers noted that expansion of revenue bases is vital for the municipalities to remain economically viable, and to provide sustained services to the citizenry.

Municipalities would have to explore other areas to garner revenue to sustain their work, and if necessary, expand their operations.

Also, for municipalities to remain relevant, their employees must be trained and retrained in Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) and other relevant areas.

The officers expressed the view that it is imperative that municipalities restructure their operations in critical areas to meet the service needs of the population.

City Hall Treasurer Ron Mc Almont was able to examine the accounting systems employed by the Linden municipality. Mc Almont shared his knowledge and expertise on ways the systems can be improved. He also noted the need for tax information to be computerised.

The Georgetown municipality tax system is computerised, but City Hall would be employing a more efficient system that would reduce the time ratepayers have to wait to honour their obligations to the Council. This information would be made accessible online.

Deputy Town Clerk Sharon Harry-Munroe shared her knowledge of administration and records,and record-keeping management, as it relates to statutory agendas and minutes.

The Georgetown municipality has agreed to provide training in several areas, which will include immediate training of Constabulary officers of Linden.

The two municipalities have agreed to reintroduce the Inter-Municipal Games and Municipal Day of Sports. It is felt that this is necessary to build camaraderie among local government officers.

The Georgetown municipality will also facilitate secondment of officers from the Linden municipality.