Today, the City Council snapped back, saying, quote, "Contrary to what Mr. Rowland claimed to the media, his gratuity payment was processed on Monday, November 5th, as was promised; and thereafter, it was deposited to his credit union account."

The council even sent a copy of his cheque to show that it was issued yesterday. Of course, that's all fine and well, but - according to the agreement he and others signed - the payments are due at the end of the month - not 6 days later.

But, the council says it's carrying a heavy burden of more than a hundred thousand dollars in outstanding gratuity payments, vacation grants and vacation leave which it inherited. A press release adds, quote, "Moreover, the Council was saddled with an additional $147,306.73 when some employees either resigned or retired in recent months. This staggering $256,596.25 is in addition to monies owed to various suppliers including an excessive fuel bill, past due social security contributions, entertainment expenses, and last-minute street works undertaken in the run up to the Municipal elections." End quote.

And, a big part of the council's current cash crunch is that it no longer offers property tax discounts to those who pay early. On that subject, the release says, quote, "While we have tempered mass discounts on early payments for property tax to reduce the direct losses in revenue to the City in the next fiscal year, this means that the Council does not have the benefit of using revenues before they become due, as has been the case for the previous Councils."