Todd Martin Stefaniak spoke to us via Zoom today and Courtney Menzies has this story.

Effective January 1st, the Belize Port Authority announced that it would be increasing port user fees from two to three dollars. It's a fee passed on by the water taxi operators so it increases fares, but the chairman of Caribbean Sprinter says it's not exactly being handled according to the law.

Todd Martin Stefaniak, Chairman, Caribbean Sprinter
"The user fee was originally put into legislation in two out in 2019, and at that time the fee was $1. They started collecting or implementing the collection of that fee in August of 2020 during Covid. So a brand new fee whenever the country's got Covid coming around. In 2022, there was an SI that did raise the port fee to $3, and then they internally decided to charge $2. The court's still out on whether or not that's legal for the port Authority commissioner or board to contradict law. The other problem is that they're billing the operators each way. So they were billing the operators $2 to go and $2 to come back. The way the statute is written is it's per fare. So if you buy a round trip fare, you're supposed to pay the user fee, which is $2. Now they're taking it to $3. And I fear that we're going to start seeing billing for $3 there and $3 back, making the total user fee for a round trip ticket to be $6, which is very considerable."

But for Caribbean Sprinter users, even with the increase in the fee, they won't see any price changes since that operator has kept to the original SI and has been charging the $3 port fee for the entire roundtrip. They've even taken the matter to court, so until a ruling is given, they won't be changing that.

And the justification for the increase in the port fees is that BPA will use that money to provide additional services. However, Stefaniak is skeptical.

Todd Martin Stefaniak, Chairman, Caribbean Sprinter
"I've been trying to figure out what the port fees were used for since the original implementation at $1. I can't figure it out. And it got to the point where I actually filed a FOIA request in April of 2023, not really not receiving any response, floating that to the ombudsman's office and not receiving a response there either. So the use of these port fees, as it was articulated yesterday or earlier today, being used for navigational aids, once exiting Belize City, there's not a single navigational aid between Belize City and San Pedro. These lights that he spoke of, I don't know where they're at. If they exist, they must be burned out because I don't see them. They also said that user fees were used to monitor the safety of boats. Every year we have to register our boats where they undergo an inspections every year. We then have in April, we have to pay water taxi license fees, at which time a survey is done by an independent surveyor. And I believe that the Port Authority comes out. But as far as them providing routine checks, that's a farce."

He added that he doesn't think that user fee should fall on locals on a whole, and that's it's basically a cash grab.

Todd Martin Stefaniak, Chairman, Caribbean Sprinter
"I think the fact that local residents in the first place have to bear a user fee, it seems like that should be pushed more by the transient population where we could increase that fee significantly, still obtain the same revenue, but take the burden off of the local residents. And local residents are very, you know, price sensitive. The economy has not returned, as I think Kaylonsaid in his letter. So it's just harder for everyone. Every time the government throws in another fee, another cash grab, then the people suffer."

"I mean, you have to remember, they're also making as it relates to the water taxi business, they're already making thousands of dollars every year on boat registrations. They're already making thousands of dollars every year for a separate license for the for the water taxi. You know, and that's based on per boat. Until there's some sort of justification as to where these tens of thousands of dollars a month and user fees go, I don't believe there's much going on behind the scenes, which has been reported earlier that the public doesn't see what the Port Authority does. I don't see the user fees being used to improve water taxi services. I think, you know, at the hand of the Port Authority, because we run out of our own private terminals, burning our own private gas, going to our own private terminals that we pay for and maintain."

"I just feel that this is a cash grab, just like the new Marina act, which is something that's been put into law to tax every single dock over water in the country. Not just commercial operators, but private ones as well."

And he says that the Panamanian Port Proposal -while it hasn't been signed - make shim question if Port funds are being put to optimal use:

Courtney Menzies:
"When you see proposals like this, are you concerned that in fact, it justifies your dim view of the machinations behind these fees that the port is collecting?"

Todd Martin Stefaniak, Chairman, Caribbean Sprinter
"I do and and I want to reiterate something. The user fee that we collect doesn't impact me at all. So whether it's $2 or $1 or $3, 100% of those moneys go to the Port Authority. In fact, I end up paying money to collect that money for the Port Authority in terms of credit card merchant processing fees. So whether the port, the user fee is $100 or it's $1, that doesn't impact us operationally at all, other than collecting that money to then turn over 100% of to the Port Authority. The question about the, you know, $1.3 million thing that fell out of the sky. I think what I would say to that is, I read a comment, somebody made a really good Facebook comment, on your article about it that said, like, why wouldn't we just find people into Belize to implement these things instead of going to an anonymous corporation structured in Panama?"

But is this just the rantings of a foreign investor who wants to conduct tax-free business? We asked him.

Jules Vasquez:
"But how do you answer the criticism that oftentimes investors just want to enrich their bottom line, optimize for commercial advantage, and create the most freewheeling regulatory environment in order to optimize profits? Are you one of those?"

Todd Martin Stefaniak, Chairman, Caribbean Sprinter
"No, I'm really not. I mean, I lived in Belize for a little over six years before Covid hit and there were talks of lockdowns. Our organization employs 50 or so people that we provide 100% health care and life insurance to at no cost to them. So it's with sprinter. It's not the dollar first. We have, we support 50 families. You know, above the poverty line."