Council intends to pay year old debt to Waste Control

The morning’s session lasted merely half an hour and a cool headed mayor exited the courtroom with his attorney Michael Young. Mayor Bradley admitted that the council has not paid a dime of the old debt which has doubled with the years of interest on the principal amount. How will the council make good on its commitment to honor the debt? That will also include earnings to be gained when the garbage tax becomes attached to the monthly Belize Water Services bill.

Jose Sanchez

“Mr. Lumor says not even ten dollars has been paid and something could have been done.”

Darrell Bradley, Belize City Mayor

“Well I do believe that in retrospect that some things could have been done differently in terms of communication and dialogue with both sides. This is a judgment debt; it is something which attaches to the City Council; it is something which we are dealing with. We are putting in place a process that will advance this issue to the satisfaction of both sides. The sanitation contracts, and I’ve said it before, they are significant—I wouldn’t say burden, but—it is a liability that accounts for forty percent of our outlays. And this is not something which has started with this council. This is something which has originated from 2007. Every single year, every single City Council has had a difficulty in meeting its obligations.”

Jose Sanchez

Darrell Bradley

“The current debts; how are they being managed?”

Darrell Bradley

“Well for example, last year they had said that we had gone into arrears. Every other week, we make a double payment to them so that we are catching up in terms of everything. If you would recall in November there was a strike action that they took. At this present moment we are almost equalized with our payments and we are making our payments. The simple fact is that this judgment debt which is outstanding since the original debt since 2005. So this is something which is significant; no City Council has really dealt with it in the way which it should be dealt with. And we are saying that we are prepared to sit down and they have responded to see how we could put in place a mechanism that would see this debt retired in full.”

Adele Ramos

“Mayor, the garbage collection fee has not yet been instituted. Is that one of the avenues that you are looking at to prop up the finances of the council given that this two point three million stands owing?”

Darrell Bradley

“Yes that is one of the mechanisms which would of course improve the financial position of the City Council. We are still finalizing our numbers with BWS. The position really is that they have given us a list of all the households that they mean to send out the bills to and we are verifying that. As soon as that is finalized, then residents will see that this will come into play and of course that will increase the income of City Council and that will make it easier for us to deal with all our debt obligations.”

Michael Young, Attorney for City Council

“I think I should add, to put matters into perspective, this debt is now at about two point three million and in fact the original debt was just about a million. And so it is a problem that had its root back then and has increased. As a matter of fact, the debt has doubled and is increasing every day. The disposition of the City Council as I have been instructed is that what they have wanted to do is settle this once and for all, a global settlement; that would result in a resolution of the court action before the court and also what is going to happen to the contract. And perhaps that is what best explains why there has been no movement in the court so to speak in so far as actual payment being made towards the court judgment.”

The case returns to the court on April twenty-second 2013.