In its continued quest to boost compliance and collections of property taxes for the fiscal year, the Ministry of Local Government hosted a meeting of its property tax regional managers yesterday, Thursday September 13, 2012 to examine the areas of weaknesses, asses the shortfall in collections and to identify measures and strategies to improve performance.

This is against the background of the realization of just 52 per cent of the targeted collection at the end of August which is some 14 percentage points below the projected . The parishes of Trelawny and Clarendon registered the lowest collection rates of 46 & 47 per cent respectively. The projected collection amount is $3billion dollars with current obligations accounting for $2billion and arrears at $1billion.

Hanover was the only parish to have recorded collection above sixty percent (60%) with a collection rate of 62 per cent for the period followed by KSAC with a 57 per cent collection rate and Portmore with 55 per cent.

Chief among the measures arrived at to improve the situation  during the discussions was  the deployment of a Special Enforcement Team in each of the four regions which becomes operational October 1, and will run until the end of the fiscal year March 2013. The team is mandated to target on a parish-by-parish basis ‘consistent delinquent’ property owners.

Other measures will include:

·         A public education campaign

·         Strengthened collaborative effort between the parish councils and the Tax Administration department to increase the number of compliance officers

·         The establishment of Saturday Out-Stations at key locations

·         The issuing of reminders

The regional managers were required to make presentations on their respective portfolios and outline the reasons for the shortfall as well as identify strategies for improving same.

Property taxes is one of the main sources of revenues for the island’s fourteen local authorities and is mainly utilized for solid waste disposal and collection, street lights and community beautification.

Local Government staff had their first official meeting with their new Permanent Secretary Robert Rainford on Tuesday, August 21, 2012 at the Ministry’s Hagley Park Road offices. Mr. Rainford succeeds Mrs. Sharon Crooks who has been assigned to the Ministry of  Water, Land, Environment and Climate Change.

The Permanent Secretary took the opportunity to express his views on his new assignment, telling staff that he welcomed the opportunity to work with them especially as the Ministry of Local Government & Community Development touches the life of every citizen. He said he was looking forward to accomplishing great things together.

Mr. Rainford also briefly outlined his expectations as well as his approach to work and leadership. He noted  that he was relying on the support of the staff to build on the achievements of the Ministry and to move the Ministry further ahead in accomplishing its mandate.  He added that he is a firm believer in teamwork as it was the only way to achieve organizational objectives.

‘Everyone should be intimately acquainted with the mission of the organization and give of their best towards its achievement ‘ he declared.

Robert  Rainford comes to the Local Government Ministry from the Ministry of Justice where he served as Permanent Secretary since 2009.

The Ministry of Local Government & Community Development has seen to the removal of asbestos material from the Poor Relief building at 65 Hanover Street, Kingston. Additionally, estimates have been received for the replacement of the roof with alu steel sheeting and work is expected to begin shortly.

Following the discovery of the hazardous material in April of this year, Minister of State (MoS), Honourable Colin Fagan, along with members of the Technical Services Department of the Ministry, visited the site to assess the situation and plot the way forward.  The State Minister gave his assurance then that the team would be moving with alacrity to resolve the problem as the health and safety of the staff and patrons were of utmost importance.

The technical team was directed to source and acquire the services of a specialist in asbestos removal.  Notch Line Traders Limited, one of only four (4) registered specialists was contracted in accordance with the GoJ procurement guidelines and the removal was carried out on Saturday, August 11, 2012.

Minister of State, Fagan has expressed satisfaction with the work that has been done, ‘we had hope to have the harmful material removed in as short a time as possible but given the procurement guidelines and the fact that this is a very specialized area it could not have been done any sooner’, he said.

“It is imperative that our officers, who provide a critical service to society, are able to do so in a safe environment”, he added.

The Ministry also directed the removal of asbestos from the Trench Town fire station on July 28, 2012 and a contract should be in place for the same procedure to be effected at the Port Royal Fire station by next month.

The Ministry of Local Government & Community Development has seen to the removal of asbestos material from the Poor Relief building at 65 Hanover Street, Kingston. Additionally, estimates have been received for the replacement of the roof with alu steel sheeting and work is expected to begin shortly.

Following the discovery of the hazardous material in April of this year, Minister of State (MoS), Honourable Colin Fagan, along with members of the Technical Services Department of the Ministry, visited the site to assess the situation and plot the way forward.  The State Minister gave his assurance then that the team would be moving with alacrity to resolve the problem as the health and safety of the staff and patrons were of utmost importance.

The technical team was directed to source and acquire the services of a specialist in asbestos removal.  Notch Line Traders Limited, one of only four (4) registered specialists was contracted in accordance with the GoJ procurement guidelines and the removal was carried out on Saturday, August 11, 2012.

Minister of State, Fagan has expressed satisfaction with the work that has been done, ‘we had hope to have the harmful material removed in as short a time as possible but given the procurement guidelines and the fact that this is a very specialized area it could not have been done any sooner’, he said.

“It is imperative that our officers, who provide a critical service to society, are able to do so in a safe environment”, he added.

The Ministry also directed the removal of asbestos from the Trench Town fire station on July 28, 2012 and a contract should be in place for the same procedure to be effected at the Port Royal Fire station by next month.

The senior management team of the Ministry of Local Government and Community Development led by Permanent Secretary Mrs. Sharon Crooks met with the Senior Executive Team of National Commercial Bank (NCB) led by Mr. Patrick Hylton, Group Managing Director, at a leadership development breakfast at the Courtleigh Hotel and Suites on July 16, 2012.

This meeting was the first in a series, designed by the Ministry to strengthen the interface between government officers and the private sector in a bid to building strategic alliances that will enhance the work of these officers.

In her greetings, Mrs. Crooks emphasized the importance of developing relationships between Government and Private sector as a means of driving national development. She stated that the Ministry is actively seeking to establish sustainable partnerships that will further drive the local government reform process and engage private sector entities in developing an appreciation for local governance in order to obtain their partnership and assistance on various projects and programmes. She also addressed the issue of building on strengths and minimizing weaknesses saying  “leadership can guide, facilitate and centuate greatness in all of us”.

Meanwhile NCB’s Group Managing Director Patrick Hylton, who made the main  address, complemented the Permanent Secretary’s position speaking on the topic “Your Network, an enhancer of your Net worth.” Mr. Hylton delved into contemporary leadership and organizational theory by focusing on the (5) A’s, Aspire; Assess, Architecture, Act and Advance.

The leadership rap session was introduced by Mrs. Audrey Tugwell-Henry, Senior General Manager (Retail Banking), here members of each executive team seated strategically, engaged in fruitful discussions on current issues and potential partnership arrangements between the two entities.

Feedback from the Local Government team indicated that the interface was very useful, many persons stated they were eagerly looking forward to the next session which is schedule to take place late September 2012.

Minister of State in the Ministry of Local Government and Community Development the Honourable Colin Fagan, made note of some minor works that were to be completed in the short term, while on a walk-through of the Waterford Fire Station on Friday, July 6, 2012.

While on the tour, the Minister, who was accompanied by members of the Technical Services Unit of the Ministry as well as top ranking officers of the Jamaica Fire Brigade, addressed the officers of the station thanking them for their dedicated service to the people of the community and the wider Jamaica. He also implored the staff to ensure that they play their part in maintaining the facility as best as they can.

The team noted that the fire station is structurally sound and could be used as a proposed prototype unit for substations across the island necessary, while itemizing the critical areas that are to be addressed immediately, these include:

·         Overall painting of the exterior and interior of the building (preparation of the new surface have to be done)

·         Provision of mattresses to fit existing frames

·         Electrical outlets to be covered

·         Electrical lighting fixtures to be repaired or replaced if necessary

·         Wooden Louvre blade windows to be removed and replaced by aluminum Louvreblade windows

·         Shutters for engine bay is to be rehabilitated

Landscaping of the entire lot is to taken on as part of a more long term plan.

Minister Fagan has mandated that the technical team of the JFB complete and submit an estimate to the Ministry as soon as possible. After the submission of these estimates, the Minister will chart the way forward in implementing the rehabilitation of the Waterford fire station.

The Minister of State’s visit to the Waterford Fire Station was the first in a series of planned visits to fire stations islandwide.

The Ministry of Local Government & Community Development has acquired fifteen (15) hand held GPS devices along with software and related accessories for use in a streetlight audit to be conducted islandwide.

The audit is to be conducted by Local Authorities (LAs) in conjunction with Jamaica Public Service Company Ltd (JPSco) in a bid to improve efficiency in the monitoring and management of streetlights as well as to ensure that there is greater level of accountability of the service being provided by JPSCo Ltd.

This is essential as the Local Authorities’ responsibility for the management and monitoring of streetlights includes paying for the service and this is a very high cost that has been increasing steadily over the years. The Government paid One Hundred & Seventy Eight Million Dollars ($178M) for streetlights over the 2010/2011 fiscal year and $2.62 billion is projected for this year.  In fact, the cost for streetlights has increased by 83% between January 2009 and February 2012.

Consequently, the Ministry in conjunction with the LAs and the JPSCo Ltd. developed a shared Streetlight Database with online public access, to document and track street lights in Jamaica.

The streetlight audit will ensure accurate account of all existing streetlights based on location, type and wattage.

A 5day training exercise (in the use of the equipment), involving personnel from the LAs as well as other individuals who will be contracted to carry out the audit, is currently underway at the Ministry.  The audit is expected to begin within in one week and will be conducted over a 3month period.  Once the streetlight audit is completed the GPS equipment will be retained by LAs for use in their planning and road works activities.