The Mayor and City Council (M&CC) has reportedly collected in excess of $33 million from defaulting taxpayers, in the first two weeks of its month-long amnesty period.
This was related on Monday by acting Accounting Manager John Douglas, who related that up until Saturday, the council had received $33,412,692. The amnesty period is expected to last until December 15.
At an extraordinary meeting held two weeks ago, the majority of the council had voted to provide any property owner who pays rates owed between November 15 and December 15, 2017, a 100% waiver on the interest accrued. Monday’s statutory meeting at the M&CC also saw the Town Clerk Royston King announcing that the payment of November wages and salaries to workers began on Monday and should be concluded by Friday.
The council has recently had issues with delivering on its payment of salaries. King reiterated that the M&CC is tight on resources, as the payroll for workers outweighs the revenue collected by the council every month.
On average, over the last eight months revenue has been $188 million per month but average expenditure has been $212 million.
