in 1997

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While the increased violation of the municipal system by taxpayers has been a common occurrence, City Hall has been unable to benefit from the millions of dollars paid by defaulters to the court, as the money is automatically diverted to the consolidated fund. This issue is being highlighted as the lack of a standardised Municipal Court takes centre stage.Georgetown Mayor Hamilton GreenGeorgetown Mayor Hamilton Green had told reporters that the establishment a Municipal Court would go a long way in aiding the Council to rake in outstanding monies owed by private persons and entities. Green further believes that with the prosecution of those offenders, tax collection may become an easier task for the Council with this implementation.In a recent interview with Kaieteur News, Mayor Green briefly explained how the cash-strapped Municipal authority is unable to benefit from the present court system even after frequent calls were made to the administration for the implementation of a Municipal Court.“The Mayor and City Council is quite conscious that there has been an increase in violation of Municipal Laws in the city, particularly with regard to the constabulary, public health and engineering department. But the city does not benefit from the monies collected by the present court system because we lack the legal framework to do so…We had desired a Municipal Court, which would require action by the cabinet and the government. The Municipal Court would deal exclusively with our matters, and will allow for incentive to be directly deposited towards the development of the City.“This will allow us to go after more violators. It will also assist in avoiding time spent by our prosecuting team in the courts, even as it is today. Beyond that we had asked that a ticket system be introduced, hence, for example, a man found littering would be issued a ticket and the money will be paid directly to us. But that also was not agreed to by Government,” Green added.According to the Mayor, in 1997, the council made appeals to then Chancellor Desiree Bernard and Chief Justice Carl Singh to have the issue suitably rectified.“Mr. Singh was quite sympathetic and cooperative and today what we have is a court that deals with these matters but it falls short of our initial request for a special Municipal Court. The other issue is that the municipality benefitting from the fines imposed remains unresolved; our effort to have this remedied has not met with the success we desire. The money collected by the court, over the years goes into the consolidated fund.”An average of fifteen matters directly related to the municipality engage the attention of a City Magistrate every week.While custodial sentences are the standard penalty for burglary offenders, court fines imposed upon offenders of similar crimes against the city range from $5000 to $50,000. Crimes against the municipality include unlawful disposal of garbage, break and enter and larceny, unlawful obstruction of the public way, and forbidden soliciting of passengers ‘touting’.Judicial Officers have confirmed that as a result of court action taken against such offenders, a minimum of $100,000 is collected on behalf of the municipality every week. This amount accumulated over a five-year period is quite significant.It has been 20 years since City Hall has benefitted from the money paid by defaulters through the court system.