MANDEVILLE, Manchester — The Manchester Parish Council has formalised an agreement with the Resident Magistrate’s Court in Mandeville for cases involving alleged property tax delinquents to be heard at night.

The “dedicated” night sessions for property tax cases are expected to take place as an addition to the regular day court.

David Harris, director of finance at the council, told the Jamaica Observer Central that Manchester’s property tax arrears now stand at over $1 billion.

He said that the target for the financial year is $948 million and as of the period April 1, 2014 – March 7, 2015, a total of 70 per cent ($661,470,573) has been collected.

Harris said that the tax office will schedule the cases for the night court sessions and the proposed time is every second Wednesday of each month for as long as is necessary to get the arrears cleared.

He said, however, that taking residents to court is not the only method that is being used to get residents to pay their property tax.

Arrangements have been made to make the process easier for the persons who want to meet their obligation, he said.

The director of finance said that avenues have been and will be created for residents to pay at outstations in communities, and churches have been asked to put property tax reminders in their announcements. He said that an effort is being made to relieve congestion inside the tax office by finding an additional area on the property for payments.

As part of the effort, the tax office in Mandeville will be opened on Saturday, March 28 from 10:00 am – 4:00 pm to give residents a chance to pay before March 31 and avoid interests and penalties.

A town crier will be used, he said, starting today, to notify citizens of the deadline and the extended opening.

“If persons are having a difficulty in terms of making their payment, they can go in and make payment arrangements with the tax department,” said Harris.

He said that residents with “special” circumstances, such as pensioners and persons who are sick and unable to pay, can apply through the Manchester Parish Council for discretionary relief. However, in order to qualify for consideration, applicants should have no arrears.

For property tax requests that cannot be handled through the council he said persons can take the matter directly to the Ministry of Finance and Planning.

Harris said that while there are persons before the court for delinquency he is not aware of any cases where persons are locked up as a result.