AmbergrisCaye.com Home Forums The Cayes Ambergris Caye Cleanup campaign

They (the Town Council) are not serious about many issues, such as collection of what little property tax is assessed just as one example, but for many the relaxed attitude towards life in general is one of the main attractions of the area, so its hard to define exactly what level of enforcing anything is the happy medium?

While I personally am for ongoing clean up (and have stated that in order for me to offer financial help I require that residents clean up after themselves as a prerequisite) as a visitor its not for me to tell these residents how to live their lives, but rather to offer suggestions when asked and other than that, make the decision to visit or not based on conditions in the area.

If this is true I have to wonder why there is a whole brigade of people that work the San Pedro Town dump to collect plastic bottles. Then they package it up in sacks, and truck it to the barges to be sent to the City. These are fairly impoverished people so I know they are not doing it solely to save the environment. I remember reading a story about them in one of the local papers.... but I can't remember where they send the plastic bottles.

On the puny tax income the Town Board receives it's a miracle they do as much as they do. I think property taxes should be raised to something a bit more realistic, with those who simply can't pay adequately protected of course. The property taxes I pay on my house in England, much smaller than the one I have here, are almost 100 times what they are here. I think most people wouldn't object if they were raised to maybe fivefold.

Then of course they need to be actually collected! So that the Town Board had some income to deal with the many o/s issues.

One thing that I had tried to research on-line, but didn't get very far along with, was the possibility of buying sturdy but affordable large trash bags. The next step I thought might be to have some local businesses and/or the town council "sponsor" the cost of the bags - maybe have their logos put on them. This would allow us to not only have large receptacles, but the liners required to contain the trash on the way to the dump - or recycling plant.

On another note, I watched a show featuring "grindzilla" - a machine that goes to constructions sites, crunches and grinds wood leftovers and cut offs and makes mulch.

Amanda, Having read a number of your posts, you seem to have your finger on the pulse of what is happening on AC. I admittedly know little about what is going on, but am very civically minded and have fallen in love with AC. As far as the cleaning up of the island here are my questions: 1. Would it make sense to operate a transfer station for the general disposable garbage? 2. If that is feasable, then would it also be a possibility to separate then barge or separate and incinerate. Of course this requires planning, approval and building of a dump/transfer site, workers and of course cooperation with other entities including barge operators and mainland facilities.

Thoughts??

This has been a long-range (very long range) project of the GOB for years now. It stumbled over a big controversy about the proposed dump site on the mainland...got to be a NIMBY type deal. No news on it lately.

A question for local residents?

Has there EVER been a local politician who has had the issue of trash pick up, separation and recycling as a part of their platform?

If so, how was that received by the voters?

Same sort of question for property taxes to be retained and used within the district of the Taxing authority?

Can't answer those questions but you need to realize that individual politicians do not develop platforms. Only the party as a group does.
The issue of the island retaining property taxes has been argued but the reality seems to be more an issue of the amount returned back to the local island government.

Is there no mechanism for the San Pedro township to assess, collect and administer taxes without Belmopan appropriating an unreasonably high share?

Tourism is the Golden Goose for Belize's economy and without some basic municipal services, the desirability of the island as a tourism destination will decline

In Belize a town doesn't have the authority to levy taxes, only GOB can set rates and appraised values. They make up the tax rolls and authorize San Pedro Town Council to collect them, passing them along to Belmopan. SPTC doesn't even have authority to lien or seize property...only to file suit in Magistrates Court. Belmopan then returns some amount back to SPTC.
SPTC does collect and keep other taxes and fees such as Trade and Liquor License fees, Transport Fees and License Fees, and others.