…mayors welcome move to increase property rates

GOVERNMENT’S decision to valuate properties throughout the country will bring much-needed financial relief to the nine municipalities, with Linden Mayor Carwyn Holland declaring that they have suffered long enough with rock-bottom rates over the years.

For decades, municipalities across the country have been advocating for the outdated land values to be addressed, pointing out that some home-owners are paying as little as $1000 on their properties. “Government recognises that NDCs and municipalities must be financially self-sufficient, if they are to deliver and maintain quality public goods and services to their constituents and facilitate socio-economic development across their respective areas,” Finance Minister Winston Jordan told the National Assembly as he justified the need to valuate and re-value properties across the country.

Government, he said, is exploring the possibility of conducting a country-wide valuation exercise in 2018 to bring all property values up to date, so that NDCs and municipalities are equipped with appropriate revenue streams to deliver their mandates.

In a statement, the Georgetown Mayor and City Council, which is headed by Mayor Patricia Chase-Green, said the valuation of properties would bring financial relief to its operations. “The Georgetown City Council has been finding it extremely difficult to deliver critical services in all local communities in a consistent and timely manner, due [to] serious financial constraints which is premised on a narrow revenue base,” the municipality said.

It was explained that the cleaning of drains, collection of refuse, provision of street lights, health care and allied services, maintenance of parks and gardens, and road repairs all fall under the remit of the Council. However, such works are sometimes stymied due to the lack of resources.

“In the past, the Council has stressed the need for valuation of properties, since this was not done for approximately two decades. Our records show that some property-owners are paying as low as $1,000 annually. And there are those who are paying residential for commercial entities,” the City Council pointed out.

The low rates on properties have resulted in the council being in a peculiar financial position. The Georgetown Council has been finding it “strenuous” to honour its obligations to employees, contractors and other suppliers of goods and services. According to the municipality, the move by central government would put the Georgetown municipality in a better position to provide necessary services to the citizenry.

President of the Guyana Association of Municipalities (GAM) and Mayor of the Linden Town Council, Carwyn Holland, in a late-night interview with the Guyana Chronicle, said he is pleased with government’s consideration. Describing it as a blessing in disguise, Holland said, “This will be one means, and one way in which municipalities will be able to capture the unserved areas and to bring those persons into their fold.” “For an entire year you have persons with an acre of land and huge houses paying $800 and they are accessing municipal services, how could that possibly be, how could a municipality survive with those charges,” he added.

He said too that some residents are more than willing to have their properties valuated and re-valuated for the payment of taxes, on the basis that they will be able to benefit from the services provided by the municipalities. However, Holland’s only concern is whether the Finance Ministry or the executing body has the human resources to carry out such an extensive exercise.

“The only thing would be prioritising. I don’t know how many officers they have to carry out this country exercise, that will be the question I will be asking,” the Linden Mayor said, while expressing the view that consideration should be given to municipalities that are in desperate need of revenues.
Mayor of Bartica, Gifford Marshall, told this newspaper that currently the rates being charged for properties are grossly undervalued

It was pointed out that the average rate per property in Bartica is $2,600.00 per year. “This sum cannot support the work of our municipality. As a result, the work of the municipality is stifled because of lack of funding,” Marshall posited.

Like Holland, Marshall pointed out that the vital services offered by the municipalities are solid waste collection, maintenance of public spaces, maintenance of roads, the cleaning and clearing of alleyways and drains, but provision of such has been a major challenge. “As a result, we welcome this initiative (Property valuation) which undoubtedly will significantly improve the capacity of the municipality.

The hiring of qualified human resources and improved services will now become a reality,” the Bartica Mayor stated. However, he said residents, especially those residing in the new towns will have to be sensitised to the importance of rate-collection and the benefits to both residents and the local administration. Additionally, he noted that enforcement will be key, since more that 50% of the residents do not pay their taxes.