St. Catherine Residents Urged to Pay Property Tax

Mayor of Spanish Town, Dr. Andrew Wheatley, has urged residents in St. Catherine to pay their property taxes, to ensure the delivery of quality service by the St. Catherine Parish Council.
The Mayor was speaking at a ceremony on October 22, at the Linstead Baptist Church, St. Catherine, to hand over 250 Certificates of Title to beneficiaries under the Land Administration and Management Programme (LAMP).
The recipients are from Byndloss, Old Harbour, Church Pen, Russel Pen, Golden Acres, Colbeck, Mount Rosser, Ewarton and Linstead.
“I am sure that with these titles in your possession, you will pay your property taxes, because it is the property taxes that you will be paying, that will assist us to deliver quality service to you,” the Mayor said.
Dr. Wheatley told the land owners that some $20 million was required monthly, to pay for garbage collection in the parish.
“Looking at the figures, we have not been able to collect more than $4.5 million per month for property tax,” he said, adding that some $28 million more was needed to pay for street lights.
“Remember your responsibility to yourself and to your country, so pay your property taxes,” the Mayor urged.
Acting Land Tenure Specialist at LAMP, Lisa Campbell, emphasised that a person applying for a land title, must be up-to-date in the payment of property taxes.
“We insist that property taxes be paid up, so that persons can say that they are playing their part in building Jamaica,” she added.
Also attending the ceremony were Minister of State in the Ministry of Water and Housing, Everald Warmington; Member of Parliament for North West St. Catherine, Robert Pickersgill, and Member of Parliament for East Central St. Catherine, Natalie Neita Headley.