THE Georgetown Mayor and City Council are set to engage in budget talks for the fiscal year 2024, next Monday.
This was disclosed during the Mayor and City Council’s statutory meeting on Tuesday which was held at the Kitty Market.
The decision to have the budget dealt with on Monday arose following a heated debate between the council members, at Tuesday’s statutory meeting.

The Mayor and Council have faced criticism from Alfonso De Armas, a city councillor from the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C), regarding the delayed presentation of this year’s draft budget until April 24, 2024.
At that time, he said that neither the Mayor nor the finance committee chairperson could provide answers to questions from PPP/C councillors about the origins of the budget figures.

“It was blatantly clear that the budget was a copy and paste job from the previous year’s budget, which itself had been copied from the budget before that,” De Armas said in his letter.
The councillor noted the evident absence of trend analysis, cost adjustments, and inflation adjustments in relation to the draft budget.

In light of this situation, he stated that to his knowledge, no council member was consulted regarding the needs of their constituency. Furthermore, he expressed concern over the lack of creativity and thorough examination, suggesting a disregard for responsible financial planning and governance.

De Armas added, “The draft budget presented weeks ago demonstrates a worrying absence of policy guidance and strategic vision. Financial decisions are made in an ad hoc manner with no regard for future financial implications.”
Further highlighting that the implications of this are grave, it was noted that without a proper budget, the city risks operational inefficiency, financial mismanagement, and a further decline in public services.

“I am willing to bet that before year end, the PNC-led council will again find itself severely cash-strapped and revert to its well-worn mantra of victimisation by the PPP Central Government,” the letter noted.
Accordingly, the city councillor demanded swift measures to rectify the situation, coupled with a budget that exemplifies meticulous planning and strategic guidance.