Dear Editor,
The new Mayor of Georgetown is either very confused, ill-advised or ill-informed.
One day during an interview with a local newspaper she denies that City Hall is cash-strapped.
Mayor Chase Green denied such claims, saying that allegations of bankruptcy were untrue, and expressed an unawareness that the municipality was struggling to pay its mammoth monthly wage bill, its contractors’ fees, and its statutory payments such as to the GRA and NIS.
She further went on to say that she had not received any such reports, which suggest that City Hall was incapable of paying its debts, and as such, she questioned the authenticity and reliability of the information that was published.
Then the very next day the Mayor made a 180 degree pivot and confirmed that the Georgetown Mayor and City Council (M&CC) had indeed run short on funds. In fact she said there was not been a time that she was aware the Council had not had a loss, claiming that the city has always been broke.
Her new claim was that the Council does not collect enough rates and taxes (general rates) to meet all the demands financially to run this city and so being short of cash was no new news, suggesting that it would take like $3 billion a year to run the city of Georgetown if it is to be developed into a modern city.
How could it be that on one day the mayor was totally oblivious of the Council’s dire financial straits even though all of her staff including those surrounding her – security, drivers and secretarial staff – were not paid, and then the next day do a complete back flip and indicate that for the last 21 years that she was at the Council, the entity was always broke?
Something has to be wrong.
Best regards,
James Mc Onnell