WMC to move resolution for greater allocation from property taxes
Published:Saturday | January 13, 2024 | 12:08 AMAlbert Ferguson/Gleaner Writer
WESTERN BUREAU:
The Westmoreland Municipal Corporation (WMC) has served notice to move a resolution requesting a greater portion of the property taxes allocated to the island’s municipalities.
Cebert McFarlane, People’s National Party’s (PNP) councillor for the Leamington Division, on Thursday tabled the notice seeking to increase the 7.5 per cent it gets from the taxes it collects on a monthly basis.
He said the resolution to this effect will be tabled and debated at the next sitting of the WMC, and will be circulated to all other municipal corporations and the Ministry of Local Government for support.
“I am serving notice to table a resolution, calling on the Ministry of Local Government to increase the amount allocated to the council from property tax,” McFarlane said at the regular monthly meeting of the WMC on Thursday.
McFarlane, who has long indicated that he will not be seeking re-election at the end of this extended term, said Westmoreland currently leads all other municipal corporations in terms of property tax collections.
A total of $414,710,404.19 was collected up to the end of December last year, which represents 78.84 per cent of their target of $526,030,292 for fiscal year 2023-2024.
Providing a synopsis for the need to increase the amount of money coming back to corporations, McFarlane told his colleagues that, in the last 24 months, they have been laden with additional expenses, without adequate resources.
“Over the last year or two, we have been given more financial responsibilities. Some of the pay and travel increases, the council have to be paying those,” he argued.
“If you notice, anytime something comes up and the Central Government can’t deal with it, they normally put the responsibility on parish councils, such as (repairs to) bridges and minor roads,” McFarlane reasoned.
“Where will the parish council get money at any point in time to repair bridges?” he questioned, noting that an increased allocation to the parish council from property taxes will expand their capacity to fulfil such responsibilities.
Property taxes are also used to pay the National Solid Waste Management Authority for the collection of domestic garbage, and for street lights provided by the Jamaica Public Service, on a monthly basis.