Dear Editor,
WHEN one reads the statements and proclamations made by the mayor and town clerk of Georgetown, one is reminded of the children’s book written by Jon Scieszkait called ‘The Stinky Cheese Man and Other Fairly Stupid Tales’. The citizenry is just regaled with myths, propaganda, misinformation, or and in many instances downright lies, such as the recent declaration that the ‘City is running on shoestring budget’.

If the city were indeed running on a ‘shoestring budget,’ why did they take a large entourage on a junket to the town of Linden recently, to celebrate the official launch of the Linden Town Week 2018, costing the city a substantial sum? Would it not have been enough for this ‘poor’ city to have been represented by the mayor alone? But no, the bigwigs at City Hall never miss an opportunity to fete.

Why would a city supposedly being run on a ‘shoestring budget’ recently purchase an expensive high-end smartphone, outfit it with roaming capabilities and provide it to an officer and his spouse, who is also employed at City Hall and who will be spending time for the next few months on personal business in North America? And this is not all, many, many of the senior staffers have been provided with all-expenses-paid cellphones which they abuse even whilst on vacation.

Why would a city on a ‘shoestring budget’ embark on luxury retreats at expensive resorts around the country, and have its senior administrators dining at expensive restaurants? This money could have offset the wages of scores of sanitation workers.

Then in describing the city’s purported financial woes, it was suggested that they should look at new revenue-earning avenues, since they are unable to undertake revaluation of properties in the city. Are these people for real? How could they have given away hundreds of millions of dollars in interest waivers and write-offs, unlawfully I might add, as proper legal authority was never sought nor granted in many instances for this, and then turn around and place more financial burdens on law-abiding, tax-paying citizens by increasing their property values?

But how did the council’s administration, which employed close to 200 new persons, many of whom are the kith and kin of senior officials at City Hall in the last two and a half years, not know that this would have been unsustainable? One can only hope that as they retrench, they do it in a last-in-first-out basis, rather than target the loyal hard- working staffers who have been committed to the municipality for decades.

But instead of just cutting costs by laying off workers, why is there no suggestion to lay off the contractors that are costing the city tens of millions per month, but which was not alluded to. And I am not referring to the garbage contractors who are providing a critical service, but rather the friends, relatives, in one instance the son of the high- ranking political official, all of whom have obtained weeding and cleaning contracts without adherence to tender procedures.

But if the mayor and town clerk are serious about cost-cutting, why don’t they stop jaunting around the world on those frequent useless, unnecessary luxury overseas trips and why don’t they shed themselves of all of the superfluity such as sports utility vehicles, bodyguards, chauffeurs, static security at their residences, assistants, messengers, and other large numbers of office and support staff.

Regards
Melissa Chiu