– aggressive debt collection, accountability key to recovery, Burrowes says
Work is almost completed on two critical procedural manuals which are expected to provide policy guidelines for financial and administrative controls at City Hall. The manuals, prepared for the consideration of the council, address policies and procedures for the municipality’s rates and taxes collection, debt recovery and internal controls and compliances in the broader management of the council.
Chairman of the 2008 Commission of Enquiry into the operations of the Council Keith Burrowes who is also chairman of the committee set up to implement the recommendations, said the production of the manuals form part of an overall effort to significantly improve key aspects of the functioning of City Hall.
The draft manual seeks to provide clear guidelines and procedures for collection of rates and taxes, customer management as well as the administration of amounts collected by City Hall. In the report arising out of the Commission of Enquiry, Burrowes had identified procedures for rates and taxes collection as well as the post-collection administration of funds as critical management weaknesses at City Hall. Burrowes told Stabroek Business that the procedures outlined in the manual would seek to place emphasis on “the future collection of delinquent revenues, whilst taking cognizance of previous and current efforts to maximize the collection of outstanding [sums].” He added that the manual also seeks to place the spotlight on “known delinquents and that segment of the citizens that attempts to avoid paying their obligations altogether.”
The manual will seek to ensure optimal revenue generation for the municipality by ensuring prompt billing and timely reminders. It will guide its users in taking assertive action to prevent the occurrence of arrears and taking enforcement action against transgressors where this is deemed necessary. “Our main objectives here are to maximize revenue collection by aggressively pursuing known and yet to be discovered delinquent citizens and implementing fair, consistent and effective methods of ensuring that those obligations are met.”
While the manual recommends “a positive and reciprocal between persons liable for these payments and the M&CC it strongly recommends that the council “should not back away from any debt that is owed”, though Burrowes said the choice of collection and enforcement may vary by revenue source and amount to be collected.
Among the recommendations contained in the manual for customer management are the provision of choices as far as making payment of rates and taxes is concerned and providing accessible pay points and other mechanisms for settling accounts.
Meanwhile the manual also pronounces in detail on procedures for ensuring that funds owing to the City Council are properly and correctly banked. The issue of banking procedures for monies collected by the Council had arisen in the report on the operations of City Council and Burrowes told Stabroek Business that proper accountability and banking procedures could not be separated from the overall effort to enhance revenue collection at City Hall.
The banking procedures set out in the manual call for daily deposits in City Hall’s bank account, stipulating that cheque payments to Council in excess of $1 million be deposited on the same day and that lower amounts be deposited on the following day. Additionally, the manual calls for the immediate issuance of numbered receipts to persons making payments to City Hall.
Meanwhile the manual recommends that council officers work with ratepayers to set reasonable payment targets in cases where arrears occur. Burrowes said that in cases where arrears occur the manual seeks to elicit a more pro-active posture on the part of the Debt Recovery Unit which he said should “actively encourage people to get in touch with City Hall at an early stage. Many people are unaware of their rights and responsibilities and of the availability of a variety of payment arrangements,” Burrowes told Stabroek Business.
Even as the Georgetown City Council continues to experience financial problems that restrict its capacity to provide services and to meet the payment of council employees’ salaries in a timely manner, work continues in the direction of meeting the reform agenda outlined in the recommendations of the 2008 Commission of Enquiry into the operations of the council.
Burrowes said while he was not unaware of the crisis the council continues to face, the process of reforming its operations and realizing a higher level of efficiency was the only way that it could improve its performance. “I can understand the public’s concern and frustration but it would have been an error to assume that the mere fact of the Commission of Enquiry would have meant a miraculous turnaround for the council.”
According to Burrowes, a second manual, which deals with internal controls and compliances, seeks to help respond to revelations in the Commission of Enquiry report regarding significant irregularities including a lack of internal controls and non-adherence to the legislative aspects of the council. In this regard the manual seeks to ensure that financial reporting is reliable and that the council’s assets are safeguarded; that transactions are properly and accurately recorded and executed in accordance with the council’s authorization; that errors and irregularities are prevented to the greatest extent possible and that where errors occur and are detected, they are reported and corrected in a timely manner.
