SP Mayor: “We Inherited a “Low-Confidence/High-Risk” Council
The municipal elections are less than two months away and various city and town councils will be meeting with the media to speak of the projects they’ve been able to complete or at least begin since taking office. But for the San Pedro Town Council, headed by Mayor Wally Nunez, the last three years was spent mostly trying to stabilize a balance sheet that was left in debt and basically on life support. Today, Nunez, flanked by the current council’s administrator explained how in the almost three years that he and his team have been elected, they managed to take the council out of the red, and introduce new measures to maximize efficiency and accountability. News Five’s Marion Ali was present for the conference and filed this report.
Wally Nunez
Wally Nunez, Mayor, San Pedro Town
“When we took office, it was quite a challenge because we were a low confidence and high risk town council. We were a low confidence, high risk. We’re no longer there.”
Marion Ali, Reporting
The country’s number one tourist destination, San Pedro, has a name bigger than its bank account. That’s because, according to Mayor Wally Nunez, the state of the town’s finances were so gloomy upon taking office in 2021, that he and his council has spent most of that period trying to pay off extreme debts and introducing a system of accountability.
Wally Nunez
“There was a government loan that up to today, in reality, we don’t know what it was for. It just showed that it was supposed to be for road works. But, let’s go a little bit in depth here. In September of 2011, there was a GOB loan of $1.5 million dollars, with an interest rate of 9%, within 60 installments. As of November 2012, the previous council then, had defaulted. GOB withheld the monthly subvention and applied it to the outstanding debt. The council was a high risk enterprise, so nobody really wanted to make business with the council. So they had to go ahead and get a loan with a private individual, which also showed that it was for road works and this loan was refinanced five times in a period of eight years.”
Nunez says that the council has been repaying the loans they inherited. The first one now stands at a little over million dollars, for which they are in negotiation with the government for debt forgiveness. The second loan, for three hundred thousand dollars, still has a huge outstanding balance. Nunez pointed to two overdrafts at the banks that stood at over a hundred thousand dollars, with only sufficient money to pay one week staff salaries. The overdrafts are fully paid. But they soon discovered the situation was worse than this.
Wally Nunez
“The Outstanding Income Tax Employees deductions were made for the year 2019 and 2020, but it was never submitted to the Tax Department. This, as you can see, is outright robbery to their own staff, because they were deducting that employee’s, tax, income tax, and was not paid to the Tax Department. What was deducted was $146,744 with 55 cents. And you can also see here just interest and penalties. It added up to $222,859 with 51 cents. Upon taking office, we made an agreement to make monthly payments of $10,000.”
So far, the council has a balance of forty-two thousand dollars for the tax department. But there’s more. Nunez revealed that the last council owed a few companies, one was a construction company and another – a fuel company, for a total of over three hundred thousand dollars. That is now also being repaid. Administrator, Rene Guzman indicated that there was a system in place that was easily manipulated.
Rene Guzman
Rene Guzman, Administrator, San Pedro Town Council
“When we got in, we noted that in house software system was being used. Now, this software I must say, that was ineffective, in fact inefficient, as it was not in sync with the entire system or the cashiers. Furthermore, the system was very open in the sense that some management staff at the council at the time had access to the system and were easily able to play with the system. In other words simple as changing an account to zero balances, making a payment showing something that was never really accounted for.”
Now the council has installed a new software system in place that minimizes the chance for corruption. This system updates automatically, and shows all payments into the system, and outstanding balances. It also identifies when and who makes adjustments, if that is done. Accounting Manager, Angie Rosado said there is also an asset-listing system in place that has documentation of all the town council’s possessions and for transactions being done.
Angie Rosado
Angie Rosado, Accounting Manager, San Pedro Town Council
“We prepared a fixed asset register. Now we have a full listing of what the council owns. That being land, vehicles furniture and equipment. Everything that belongs to the console is properly accounted for. In the previous QuickBooks desktop, there was inefficient and improper documentation of revenue and expenses. With the new QuickBooks Online, we have adjusted this made the necessary changes. Our customers receipts are properly accounted for. You can easily verify in a given day all revenues collected, and a listing of all the customers who have paid in a given day will be given.”
Mayor Nunez said that for the first time, in perhaps two decades, the San Pedro Town Council has had three audit reports done for the last three years, details of which can be had from the council. The report for 2023 will be completed later this year. Marion Ali for News Five.
