Of course, no one cares when politicians whine - they asked - matter of fact, they begged for the job - so they shouldn't complain about doing it.
But, the practical reality is that the Council has to find money to fix streets and pay the sanitation company in the midst of the revenue slow season. Well, any one who's been in that seat before might say "Welcome to City Hall" - since that revenue feast and famine is chronic.
But it's his first slow season, so we forgave the Deputy Mayor when he started lamenting about how "no money noh deh."
We asked him if the current "empty pocket syndrome" at City Hall is due to electioneering from the past administration. He carefully stayed away from saying just that:
Oscar Arnold, Deputy Mayor, Belize City
"This is the period in the council where there is minimal inflows. Remember now, between trade license and property taxes which account for roughly about 72% of the total inflows for the year; 64-65% of that is collected between December and March and so those funds coming in you would have to budget, you would have to program them out so that they can spread evenly across the year. This was an election year and lamentably those funds were used; were spent on projects or whatever else we may have. And so that sort of kinda scheduling out what you have to meet when it comes to the harder months really wasn't done. And what we are looking at right now is our hardcore receivables, any amounts outstanding out there; we are looking at cutting expenditure, cutting wastages in certain areas; asking managers to ask their staff in the different units to be a little bit more fiscally responsible when it comes to fuel, telephone uses. So that whatever cost-saving measures we can have that also throws into the pie so that we can get over the next couple of months when things are really hard at the council. And that is a cyclical problem. That is one of the things that we spoke about when we were campaigning that it doesn't have to be that way. If you collect sixty percent of your revenue and you spend it in three months, you will end up in problems over the next nine month."
Reporter
"Are you suggesting or saying to us that maybe the previous administration banking on trying to be re-elected may have use those resources that you would have spread out over the entire year and so that's the reason why this incoming council and administration is going through this financial crunch because there is no resources?"
Oscar Arnold, Deputy Mayor, Belize City
"Again, I don't want to pass an opinion on that. That is a question that you would have to base to them. There are totally 2 different managerial styles; our one is of fiscal prudence and fiscal responsibility. Obviously anyone that came before us had their own ways and their own means of doing things and at this point in time I wouldn't second guess them. We now are in control of the council and so we will be taking ownership and we have taken ownership of the situation."
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