7 News Belize

Mayor Explains How Sanitation Debt Will Be Paid
posted (January 6, 2015)
So, that's one headache solved with BML, but the council still owes them major arrears. So, how will the council handle that? Well, according to Mayor Bradley, the council has been working toward retiring that debt slowly by making multiple payments in at intervals, especially during this period since, City Hall is currently generating revenue from trade licenses and property taxes.

Here's how the payment schedule should work all the way up to the end of February when all arrears are expected to be paid:

Darrell Bradley, Mayor - Belize City
"We had entered into an agreement with BML in relation to the retirement of their debt obligation which is quite significant. We had paid them I think at the ending of October 3 payments which was about two hundred thousand plus. At the end of November we had paid them 5 payments which was about roughly three hundred and fifty thousand dollars. At the close of the year we had paid them an additional four hundred thousand dollars which was not included in the agreement. The agreement indicated that we were going to make those balloon payments and then thereafter we were going to pay them twenty dollars per week until the monies were retired. We are paying them the twenty thousand dollars per week and in addition to that we paid them four hundred thousand dollars as a balloon payment to ensure that we can pay them off quite comfortably by the ending of February and that puts us at the first week in December, so we are still in an arrears position with them, but we are making accelerated payments to them and we are at the first week in December, so we are behind about five or six weeks and we expect that we will be able to close them comfortably by ending of February. So that when we hit that ending of February deadline, we will have no more obligation to BML as it relates to their recurrent debt with us."

The council still has a judgement debt for BML which is 7 years old, and which has been ignored by all other councils before him. That debt continues to accrue interest, and is at approximately at 2.8 or 2.9 million dollars. Bradley says that he is negotiating with the Management of BML to settle it in the near future. You may remember that he's also settled a judgement debt with Belize Waste Control, which was over a decade old.

And speaking of BWC, what's the plan for that sanitation company? As we've showed you regularly in our newscast, the two parties are in and out of court. Well, Bradley says that the council is also catching up on arrears since last month:

Darrell Bradley, Mayor - Belize City
"That is the same position with Waste Control. We are paying them off double weeks when we can afford to and recently we made a payment of three hundred thousand dollars to them which represents six weeks payment and that was again a balloon payment and that brings us to them current as of the first week in December. That means that we are still roughly five weeks behind with them and we expect that we will close that quite soon. Remember that in both contracts, the contract allows us lawfully to be in four weeks in arrears. So we are only one week outside and we had made this pledge and commitment to members of the public that we are running the finances of the city council in a way that is accords with transparency and good government. We are not a city council that has a lot of money, but we are working very responsibly in terms of our independent financial audit and ensuring that we can pay off our bond obligations and our debt position and our debt position with the sanitation contractors is at manageable levels."

But, as we showed you last month, Belize Waste Control sued City Council and got a default judgment of five hundred and twenty five thousand dollars against them for unpaid arrears. It got so adversarial the company's attorney pressed the Supreme Court to crowfoot the council's assets.

Mayor Bradley has conceded before that the business relationship between the council and the sanitation company is consistently contentious. Today, he had an interesting spin on the lawsuits that the company keeps tying them up in. Bradley says that he sees it as strategy from BWC who knows that because he is a responsible mayor, it's an easy win and a sure payday:

Darrell Bradley, Mayor - Belize City
"No other mayor dealt with these judgments. No other mayor dealt with their arrears position and several people have indicated to me, the only reason these people are suing us repeatedly is they know that we will deal with it fairly. They know that we will pay them. They know that its only under this administration that they are getting their judgments satisfied and their arrears position is being dealt with in a manage way. So that when they sue us, it's actually a strategy that they use as a corporate party which is their right to do, because they know at this end, you are dealing with somebody responsible. You are dealing with somebody who understands a balance sheet and who knows debt and debt service and who will ensure that you will be paid because if you have a contract with us and the contract says that you are supposed to be paid by a certain time, I may not have the money in August, but when we get the money in November, when we get the money in December, when we get the money in January, you are the first person that we pay. So that the first cheques that we wrote when we collected our trade licenses was to satisfy these outstanding judgments. Not because these people sue us. Even if they didn't sue us, they will be paid because that is what responsible leadership and that's what justice requires, that if you have a debt with us, you must be satisfied. They will continue to sue us and they will continue to pay their lawyers and any time they sue us all we do is that we admit the claims. We are dealing with it in a responsible way and I think those people understand that. That's why they sue us. Nobody stones an empty mango tree."

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