THE Linden municipality has been lauded by the Ministry of Communities for being among the top three municipalities to have seen an increase in revenue since 2012.
This development was outlined in a Ministry of Communities’ Analysis of Revenues and Expenditures between 2012 and 2016.
According to the report, one of Linden’s strengths is having one of the highest debt collection rates among the municipalities.
“Linden has consistently had a higher collection rate than the Municipality average; this was consistently higher in 2014, before returning to level in 2015,” the analysis highlighted.
Another of the municipality’s strengths is that it is able to operate at the highest revenue and expenditure capacity of all the municipalities.
“Best at delivering estimated services to citizens,” the analysis cited, “Linden was one of the top three municipalities in delivering the Capital Expenditure it set out at the beginning of the year. This makes it a more development-oriented Municipality.”
Currently, the Linden Mayor and Town Council garners revenue through the collection of rates and taxes from: Residents and market vendors; drivers utilising the Amelia’s Ward/Wismar and Georgetown bus and car parks; the Kara Kara Toll Booth; and its 25% share of the revenue from the Wismar to Mackenzie Bridge. The foregoing is augmented by the $16M it receives as subsidy from Central Government.

ROOM FOR IMPROVEMENT
But, as with every positive, there are some notable negatives, and the Ministry of Communities, in its analysis, has outlined the several areas for improvement which, if considered, could put the Council in a better economic standing.
Although Linden has one of the highest collection rates, revenue has not been significantly increased from 2012 to 2015. In addition to this, the Municipality has one of the lowest rates and taxes base per person. “The rate is $1500 per person compared to a municipality average of $3,000,” former Interim Management Committee Chairman, Mr Orin Gordon once told the Guyana Chronicle.
He’d also pointed out that the current tax regime has not been updated since 1976, and that the monies the municipality brings in can only take care of 25% of the Council’s expenses. “Persons are paying rates and taxes of between $600 and $800 per year, and this is because the valuation level has never changed since 1976; this is very outdated because of inflation and other factors,” Gordon said.

For there to be significant change, Gordon had said, the valuation regime would need to be changed to match our current standard of living.

AT A LOSS
As a result of this anomaly, the Ministry reports that from 2013 to 2015, Linden’s municipality ran at an actual loss, expending more than it was garnering in revenue.
“No other municipality does this consistently,” the analysis stated, adding that as a result of the municipality’s underperformance, the Council racked up a $250M debt to various entities, including the National Insurance Scheme (NIS) and the Linden Utility Company Limited (LUCL).
The report has recommended that for the Council to sustain its high expenditure capacity, it must increase both its revenue and expenditure estimates to give the town more economic and sustainable growth opportunities in the future.
With the recent re-introduction of the Kara Kara toll booth, which can be deemed as a significant boost in the Council’s revenue collection, the Council has seen improvement in this regard.
This, however, may be stymied by the fraudulent behaviour of some of the officers manning the booth. The Council has already had to fire two of these officers who were colluding to equally rob the Council of the funds garnered. There is still the belief that this may still be occurring, so the Council will soon be installing Close Circuit Television Cameras (CCTV) to the booth to better monitor its operations.
In addition to this, the Council is currently engaging the National Investment Commercial to increase the 25% of the funds garnered for the Mackenzie/Wismar Bridge operations.
Gordon also recommends that the Council begins collecting rates for every ton of bauxite and timber that leaves the town.