…to be spent on community projects
The Mayor and City Council (M&CC) was gifted $57 million by Central Government to do works in local communities.
This was according to the Town Clerk Royston King who told media operatives that there were plans to allocate $75 million of the total $200 million that would be given to the Council by Government for community projects. However, they have received $57,688,022 to begin those works.
King posited that while those monies will be spent on rehabilitation, there are certain criteria that were agreed upon by the Council as it relates to the disbursement, management, completion and evaluation of the works.
He noted that a committee was appointed to spearhead these operations which comprises of Mayor Patricia Chase Green; the Finance Committee Chairman, Oscar Clarke; Chairman of the City Works Committee, Phillip Smith; City Engineer Colvern Venture; and City Treasurer Sharon Harry-Munroe.
He explained that the projects should be examined and approved in writing by the committee and upon request by contractors; a mobilisation of 10 per cent of the total project estimate would be given to assist with the ejection of resources to commence works within the targeted communities.
Additionally, residents of the communities would be required to assist the contractors with manual labour to get the work completed.
“Fifty per cent of the work force where manual labour is required should be made up of residents of the communities where the works are executed,” King stated.
While these monies have been granted to the Councillors for development projects, City Hall ended 2017 with an approximate deficit of some $57 million, with less than two per cent of its capital works programme being completed for that year.
From the Treasurer’s report, it was recorded that the city earned $2.036 billion in revenues and spent in excess of $2.093 in expenditures.
The most significant income at that time was rates and taxes which accounted for some $1.1 billion of the total revenues earned.
However, there was a decrease in the projected revenue being earned from container fees which raked in $57 million and $183 million in 2016 and 2017 respectively, after it was expected to earn some $360 million.
Meanwhile, the parking meter project was expected to earn $120 million annually, but only $667,804 was tallied after only two months of operation.
