THE Linden Municipality’s administration has rejected a directive from Mayor H. W. Dominique Blair for the immediate reopening of the Kara Kara Toll Station, maintaining that there is no properly recorded council decision authorising the move and that the legal status of the 2016 toll By-Laws remains in question.
In a letter dated September 10, Town Clerk Lennox Gasper told the mayor that the Administration is “unable to implement it in its present form,” citing both the absence of a formally adopted Council resolution and a subsequent Ministerial instrument purporting to revoke the 2016 Linden Town Council (Toll) By-Laws.
Gasper said his review of the Council’s official records found no minutes showing that a duly constituted Council meeting had considered and adopted a resolution directing the reopening of the toll station and the resumption of collection at the former rates.
“Your letter describes the directive as having been issued pursuant to the ‘position and decision of the Linden Town Council’; however, no resolution, minute or other formal record evidencing such a decision accompanied the directive,” the Town Clerk stated.
He stressed that the mayor’s correspondence could not substitute for a formal Council resolution, noting that the Town Clerk is legally required to ensure the Council’s business is conducted in accordance with its by-laws, resolutions and Standing Orders.
“The mayor presides over council proceedings, but the mayor’s correspondence cannot, without more, constitute or replace a Council resolution,” Gasper wrote.
The administration also raised concerns over the legal authority to resume toll collection at the 2016 rates, following a September 1, 2026, instrument issued by the Minister of Local Government purporting to revoke those by-laws.
Gasper acknowledged that the validity of the ministerial action could itself be challenged via legal advice, but said that determination was not one for the Town Clerk to make administratively.
“Whether that instrument was properly authorised, ultra vires, or otherwise challengeable is a matter for competent legal determination,” he said.
The Town Clerk further pointed to ongoing discussions between the Council and Government concerning the future operation of the Kara Kara toll, including possible revised rates and the financial implications for the municipality.
He recommended that any further direction be formally placed before the Council, with the resulting resolution properly recorded and accompanied by “the legal authority under which the proposed action is to be implemented (the Minister’s signed approval).”
Until then, Gasper said, the Administration would not reopen the toll station or recommence collection at the 2016 rates.
