BY May this year, the people of Portmore will have an easier task of proverbially rendering unto Caesar what is due to him, when a branch of the Inland Revenue Department opens in the municipality.

The announcement was made by Mayor George Lee on Wednesday night at a town meeting at the Portmore Lions Civic Centre, where details about the proposed development plan for the area, as well as the budget figures for the 2007-2008 financial year were outlined.

“It will take about two to three months, [but] we want it to be up and running no later than May this year,” the mayor said.

Minister of State in the Ministry of Finance, Fitz Jackson, who was also present at the meeting, assured the community members that his ministry had already approved the money needed to undertake the venture, and that the principals were only seeking to acquire an appropriate location for the operations to begin. After the meeting, the ministry announced that the approved sum was a total of $500,000 per month to be paid as rent for a space measuring 8,000 sq ft.

Lee expressed optimism at the prospect, saying it would improve tax payment in the municipality. He said that Portmore residents were not absconding from paying their taxes, but that they were having a hard time journeying to Spanish Town or Kingston to do so. So much so, that the council had set up an informal collection base at its Portmore Pines offices to facilitate tax payment. According to Lee, over the one-year period the municipal council collected a total of $2.4 million on behalf of the revenue department.

“Given the fact that we now have a 27 per cent compliance rate, because people are having a problem going to Spanish Town to pay their taxes, I think we can lift that 27 per cent significantly if we have a collectorate here in Portmore,” he told the Observer.

But considering that most of the roughly 250,000 people who reside in Portmore travel to Kingston to work, Lee said particular strategies will have to be implemented to facilitate them. Among the strategies to be considered is a plan to open the office before early morning and extend the opening hours beyond 5:00 pm.

During the meeting, the council’s budget for the year – which showed an expected surplus of just over $370,000 – was also discussed. According to the figures, the council will spend almost $215 million and earn just over that amount in collected revenues. The bulk of the earnings will come from government grants, which represent 59 per cent or $127 million of the municipality’s revenue source, while property taxes and motor vehicle licences, which together contribute to the Parochial Revenue Fund, account for 34 per cent or close to $73 million. Other revenues, which take care of the remaining 7 per cent or just over $15 million, will come from general sources including subdivision fees, trade licences, pound and market fees and signs and billboard fees.

Monies collected for property tax go towards beautification and solid waste management in the town, while fees from the licensing of motor vehicles are reserved for road maintenance and drain cleaning, projects which, in turn, will account for the council’s biggest spending.

Huge chunks of the municipality’s budget will go towards administrative costs (some $94 million), purchasing capital equipment ($19.5 million) and grants and contributions (almost $18 million).

Plans for Portmore’s sustainable development were also discussed at the meeting. This project, being undertaken by surveyors Easton Douglas & Co, will seek, among other things, to define the boundaries of the municipality, establish which lands are property of the council and how they will be used, and whether there are enough recreational spaces in the face of the rising population growth taking place in Portmore.

The project, which will cost between $15 and $20 million, has been made possible by grants from the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) and the National Housing Trust (NHT).