But, before they get that bond infusion, the city council is in its "mawga" season - the time when it has big bills, and a small revenue stream.  In these dry days, this is the time when the previous council would turn to large traders and property owners and offer lavish discounts for pre-payment of property tax and trade licenses.  

The Mayor says his council won't give in to the discount temptation:

Bernard Wagner - Mayor, Belize City Council
"Hard times are here during this period and we are close to the end of that period, we have bite that bullet deliberately because we know there is no - you can't eat out all your money and give a 20% discount, it does not work at the end of the day, you are eating away at your venue stream down the road. So you might enjoy it now but you will feel it later on down the road. What we have been able to do is cut out the wastage, increase our collection rate from 55% to close to 80% now and we have also brought in the legal arm of the council which is those people who are delinquent in property taxes are now being pursued to the full extent of the law."