Attorney goes after City Hall for years old debt to Waste Control

Michael Young

We last heard the words of Mayor Darrell Bradley and Belize Waste Control in the same sentence on April twenty-second, 2013. On that date, attorney for BWC, Fred Lumor, sought to ask Justice Michelle Arana to cite the Mayor for non-payment of a debt which the Belize City Council has been ordered to pay. The debt, at that point, stood in the region of two point three million with interest accruing at eighty-two thousand dollars monthly. In the interest of giving the Council some room to negotiate, the matter of the contempt of court application was adjourned to June tenth, by which point the Council agreed that it would reach some settlement with BWC. Well today, the matter came up as scheduled again before Justice Michelle Arana. Attorneys Michael Young and Lumor emerged from chambers at around eleven and it’s safe to say that the discussions were not exactly cordial. To make a long story short, the Belize City Council made an offer which was not accepted by Belize Waste Control and the matter of citing Mayor Darrell Bradley for contempt of court is still very much on the table. News Five spoke to both attorneys outside of court.

Michael Young, Attorney for Belize City Council

“What I can say is that the Belize City Council has its objectives and the Belize Waste Control has their objectives and the approach was to marry the two.”

Fred Lumor, Attorney for Belize Waste Control

“This letter basically has done two things. First, it sets conditions for complying with a court order. Basically it is saying that we are prepared to raise some money from Central government to pay it but you have to write off one point three million plus the cost of the action through discussion of certain objectives of the City Council. That is one. Secondly, there are no specific items which have been identified to us that they are asking Belize Waste control to buy for one point three million. So basically we are to write off one point three million dollars. Now the way the City Council seeks it is that there is a commercial collection that the Belize Waste Control collects garbage from residential persons and also from commercial houses. So the Council is saying that they are prepared to assist with doing that providing we write off one point three million.”

Reporter

“So I’m very sure that your clients rejected that?”

Fred Lumor

Fred Lumor

“Of course! This letter is not only patronizing. It is a smoke.”

Michael Young

“They are saying that they do not wish to pursue these discussions that we have recommended and it’s really for them a question of collection of the balance of the judgment debt. But really the proceeding before the court will be an application for committal and sequestration of the Mayor and his property.”

Fred Lumor

“It is not the interest of Belize Waste Control to see anybody punished or fined. We want a municipal authority to obey a court order. The court order says pay a judgment debt forthwith since April second, 2012. If you are unable to pay then please present to the court a schedule of how you can repay the debt. That is what we have not received to date.”

Michael Young

“If they were to succeed then the committal order would be made by the court and that would be an unfortunate and rather ugly situation…”

Fred Lumor

“It would amount to three things – they would order seizure of his assets and all the assets of the Belize City. Two, they could fine the Mayor. Or three, they could send him to jail.”

The matter has been adjourned to July seventeenth.