CITCO News

PROPERTY TAX DISCOUNT PACKAGE FOR 2012/13

Wed, 28 Mar 2012 11:08:17 +0100

BELIZE CITY COUNCIL
PROPERTY TAX
DISCOUNT PACKAGE FOR 2012/13

The Belize City Council informs the public that Property Taxes for the year 2012/13 is due and payable on April 1st 2012.

In an effort to assist the residents of Belize City, the Council is once again offering discounts on property taxes.

Discounts are as follows:
 10% discount on arrears and current property taxes that are paid in full on or before July 31st, 2012
(Please note, to receive discount on current and arrears, full payment MUST be made at the Council’s main office)

 25% discount for senior citizens (65 years or older) on the property that you reside and applies only to one property. Offer valid ALL YEAR and proof of identification is required. Does not apply to Empty lots.

N.B. The Council’s Main Office is located at City Hall # 109 North Front Street.

Labor Day Notice

Thu, 28 Jul 2011 14:26:48 +0100

Mayor Darrell Bradley, Deputy Mayor Dion Leslie, Councillors, Management and staff of the Belize City Council takes this opportunity to wish all a Blessed Labor Day.

The Council all encorages all to be apart of the "Labor for Belize City 2012", to be held on Tuesday, May 1st, 2012 (Labor Day). For more information please contact Mr. Phillip Singh at telephone number 227-2308 or visit City Hall at 109 North Front Street.

Pay & Play

Thu, 28 Jul 2011 14:18:29 +0100

The Belize City Council is offering all its valuable customers an opportunity to win back all or some of what you pay in property tax through the Pay & Play Rebate Constructive Gaming System.

There are four (4) different ways to win while you pay:
• Straight
• Box
• Under & Over
• Quick Pick

N.B. When you pay your property tax the cashier will ask you to pick a number. Based on your choice of play you can win back anywhere from 16% to 100% of what you pay.

Get more information on how to play when you visit the Council’s Main Office at #109 North Front Street.

Come in and Pay to Play and Win!

The Belize City Council invites residents, community groups, NGO's and businesses to partake in ...

Thu, 06 Jan 2011 13:52:49 +0100

For more information on the Labor for Belize 2012, please contact Mr. Phillip Singh at 227-2308

The Mayor, Deputy Mayor, Councillors, Management and staff of the Belize City Council takes ...

Fri, 15 Oct 2010 12:53:06 +0100

Property Tax Reminder

Thu, 24 Jun 2010 14:45:09 +0100

BELIZE CITY COUNCIL PROPERTY TAX REMINDER

The Belize City Council hereby informs the general public that Property Tax is due and payable on or before April 1st of each year.

Please note that all property taxes that are paid after the prescribed date will be levied with interest.

The Council encourages property owners to come into our office at 109 North Front Street to pay their property taxes.

The Belize City Council, working for a Better City.

Job Vacancies - Public Relations Manager and City Planner

Mon, 07 Jun 2010 14:32:05 +0100

Public Relations Manager

The Belize City Council is seeking applications to fill the post of Public Relations Manager. All interested persons must submit their applications in a sealed envelope, no later than Monday, April 16th, 2012, addressed to Director of Human Resources, Belize City Council 109 North Front Street Belize City, Belize

This position reports to the Director of HR/PR

The duties shall consist of the following:-
• Supervise PR personnel and the work of the Department.
• Plan, develop and implement Public Relations Strategies.
• Promote and publicize the work and accomplishments of the
Belize City Council using traditional media and new
technologies.
• Liaise with and answer inquires from media, individuals and
other organization, often via telephone.
• Research, write and distribute press release to targeted media.
• Inform/Educate the public as to relevant information
impacting in the daily activities of residents in our city.
• Write and edit speeches, article and annual reports
• Prepare yearly budget for the Public Relation Department.
• Assist in the planning and preparation of any social activities
for the Council.
• Collate and analyze media coverage
• Organize events including press conferences, exhibitions,
open days and press tour
• Devise and coordinate photo opportunities.
• Foster community relations through events such as open days
and through involvement in community initiative.
• Accompany the Mayor and or Councilors to any out doors
event that will be beneficial to the Council.
• Prepare a monthly calendar for Mayor, Councillors, and City
Administrator and coordinate the timely and effective
dissemination of information pertaining to Council business.
• Prepare progress report for each department.
• Carry out any other reasonably duties assigned.

QUALIFICATIONS

A first degree in Mass Communications or Journalism with at least five (5) years experience or a first degree in Public Administration with a minimum of eight (8) years related PR experience in the public service.

Be fluent in written and spoken English. A working knowledge of the Spanish language would be a great asset.

The successful candidate must have experience working in the traditional media—print, TV, and radio.

Salary is negotiable.

CITY PLANNER

The Belize City Council is seeking applications to fill the post of City Planner. All interested persons must submit their applications along with their resume and two references, in a sealed envelope no later than Tuesday, April 10th, 2012 to the Director of Human Resources, Belize City Council, # 109 North Front Street, Belize City, Belize.

EDUCATION AND/OR EXPERIENCE

Minimum of a Bachelor’s Degree is required, but preferably a Masters Degree or other graduate qualification in Architecture or Civil Engineering field; three (3) to five (5) years related experience and/or training; or equivalent combination of education and experience.

ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS OF THE POSITION

1. Devise a regulatory system of town planning.

2. Prepare an outline development plan initially focusing on City areas of new infrastructure development.

3. Initiate a Pilot Planning Project to include outline plans for areas, where drainage improvements are proposed by Belize City Council.

4. Coordinate town planning proposals with relevant agencies.

5. Establish community groups/wardens to assist in drawing-up and monitoring of town plans.

6. Control development through regulations and persuasion.

7. Encourage the active cooperation of the private sector to achieve urban improvements.

8. Research national and international urban development policies and legislations.

9. Develop planning strategies and ensure their compliance.

10. Carry out any other reasonable assigned duties.

11. Report to work immediately in the event of a disaster threat and after the City has suffered a disaster.

12. Accountable to the Director of Technical Services.

Salary is negotiable depending on qualifications and experience.

Summons for Dangerous Building

Mon, 07 Jun 2010 11:15:25 +0100

A.-SUMMONS TO A DEFENDANT UPON AN INFORMATION OR COMPLAINT

BELIZE TO WIT: Belize Judicial District

To: Ann Meighan #11 Woods Street, Belize City

WHEREAS complaint hath this day been made by the Superintendent of Police Simeon Alvarez, Sr,
Before the undersigned, one of Her Majesty’s Justices of the Peace in and for said country of Belize for that you Ann Meighan being the last known owner of a timber building situated at #11 Woods Street , Belize City in the Belize Judicial District, which was found to be in a dangerous state, and dilapidated condition.
.

In pursuance of section 3 (2) of Dangerous Buildings (Demolition) Act, Chapter 133 of the Laws of Belize, Revised Edition 2000, this information is laid before the Court with the request that the Magistrate issue a summons to the said Ann Meighan to show cause why the said building should not be pulled down as provided by law.

These are therefore to command you in Her Majesty’s Name to be and appear on Friday the 16th day of July, 2010 at 9:30 am, in the forenoon at the Municipal Court in Belize City, Commercial Centre 3rd Floor, Market Square before such Justices of the Peace of the said Country as may then be there to answer to said charge and to be further dealt with according to law.

Given under my hand and seal this 2nd day of June in the year of the Lord two thousand and ten at Belize City in the Country aforesaid.

Howard Ramclam, J.P
(JUSTICE OF THE PEACE)

N.B. if without reasonable excuse you fail to appear in pursuance of this summons: Upon proof of service the Court may proceed with an ex-parte trial or issue a warrant for your arrest under section 28 Chapter 100 of the Laws of Belize

Lost Receipt Book

Mon, 07 Jun 2010 10:19:27 +0100

URGENT PUBLIC NOTICE

The Belize City Council hereby informs the general public that receipt book with series number 039401 to 039600 have been reported lost. If anyone has being issued receipt/s bearing numbers within these series or an attempt is being made to issue from the said, for payment towards Belize City Council, kindly contact the Belize City Council’s Revenue Department located at 109 North Front Street or feel free to call us at 223-4014.

Please be further advised that the Belize City Council will not accept any receipts bearing the above numbers.

Your co-operation is greatly appreciated.

One Hundred Day Action Plan

Wed, 21 Apr 2010 11:56:28 +0100

For Belize City Council

Photo - The Rehabilitation of River side Street

The idea of a one hundred day action plan is to ensure that citizens feel the effect of this new city council within the period of one hundred days. The action plan focuses on four priority areas: (1) creating a responsive and accountable government, (2) ensuring that the city is clean, (3) developing infrastructure, and (4) enforcing quality of life crimes.

The following actions are to be accomplished within the period of one hundred days:

Governance and accountability

1. Develop a code of conduct for City Councilors which contains a description of duties
2. Engage external auditors and complete one independent financial audit of the Council
3. Carry out an institutional/human resource audit of the Council
4. Have in place an audit committee with representatives from qualified independent persons
5. Have in place an internal audit work program comprising of a system of continuous audits
6. Implement a sensible, fair and transparent system of public tendering and procurement
7. Develop and implement a merit based hiring policy
8. Finalize and implement a human resource manual
9. Put in place a staff training and education policy
10. Compile a book of all policies of the Council
11. Ensure that the Council has in place the framework for a five-year strategic plan
12. Ensure that managers have in place monthly action plans for each department
13. Put in place systems and begin to develop a culture that encourages whistle blowing
14. Develop a no-tolerance policy for corruption at all levels of the Council
15. Make the trade license fees and property tax rolls public on the Council’s website
16. Have in place an operational appeal board for trade license and property tax assessments
17. Have in place forms and advertise the appeal board to the general public

Infrastructure and works

18. Procure a roller, grader, back-hoe and other necessary equipment for works
19. Put together a one-million dollar street infrastructure program
20. Develop the framework for a fifteen-million dollar infrastructure project
21. Launch and promote a 50-50 program for street construction
22. Begin to draft legislation to require that $0.30 of each dollar be spent on infrastructure
23. Create a special infrastructure development fund
24. Require by law that certain revenue generated by the city must be used for infrastructure
25. Do an assessment and develop a grading system for the condition of all city streets
26. Assess ongoing infrastructure programs to be able to report to the public on progress
27. Work closely with the central government to implement existing infrastructure projects
28. Develop and make public a weekly infrastructure work program
29. Conduct a city wide inspection of drains
30. Develop a plan to construct cement drains along certain streets in the city
31. Work with sanitation company to ensure the timely removal of spoils and sludge
32. Foster a closer relationship with groups like United to construct more streets
33. Network with businesses and residents to participate in infrastructure development
34. Have in place an effective system for ongoing street repair and maintenance

Responsiveness

35. Have the Council complete a walking tour of Belize City
36. Meet with relevant stakeholders including business and church organizations
37. Host at least two community meetings in the south side of Belize City
38. Do a walking tour of dilapidated streets
39. Publish this action plan and invite public criticism and comments
40. Arrange a monthly time slot on WAVE Radio to discuss city affairs
41. Do weekly write ups in newspapers letting people know what is going on with the Council
42. Develop an effective public relations and communications strategy
43. Develop an effective complaints system
44. Have Councilors set up office hours to meet with citizens to discuss their concerns

Finance and revenue

45. Be able to generate monthly budget projections and budget performance reports
46. Put in place systems to obtain financing through a fifteen-million dollar municipal bond
47. Cut spending at the Council by 20%
48. Have in place monthly financial targets for each revenue generation area
49. Increase revenue at the traffic department by 20%
50. Increase the capacity and revenue generation at the planning department
51. Develop the framework for a culture of disciplined spending through effective budgeting
52. Move towards fully computerizing the finance and revenue department
53. Move towards the implementation of a $10 garbage residential fee
54. Develop the framework for a job training program

Sanitation and Beautification

55. Support the BTB and NICH in implementing major city development projects
56. Promote ownership of the Master Plan project for Belize City
57. Light all major round-a-bouts
58. Plant one-hundred trees in one-hundred days
59. Develop a sustained community campaign to promote tree planting
60. Establish a tree nursery for the Council
61. Do a major clean-up of the northern highway
62. Launch a Labor-for-Belize initiative focusing on cleaning the city
63. Ensure that main city streets are cleaned daily
64. Have an effective system to ensure the removal of garbage from hotspots
65. Ensure greater coordination with the Gang Truce program
66. Develop a program to purchase garbage
67. Bush 100 lots in 100 days
68. Create an effective system to bush any additional lots in a timely manner
69. Get fifteen businesses to adopt fifteen city parks or public spaces
70. Plan a garbage and sanitation education campaign run through schools
71. Start ticketing for littering
72. Develop a system to encourage residents and businesses to clean in front of their property
73. Deal effectively with the green bag situation
74. Have in place proper systems to monitor the garbage and sanitation contractors
75. Start putting garbage containers in major public areas throughout Belize City
76. Create a market management committee to encourage better market management
77. Carry out at least one dog and rodent eradication
78. Develop a closer relationship with the Health Department for food handlers at market
79. Put up signs at hotspots and other areas warning against littering
80. Work with the Justice of the Peace Association to ticket for littering
81. Put in place a system to encourage residents to call in to report garbage violations

Quality of life crimes

82. Work with the Kolbe Foundation, Human Services and the police to deal with vagrants
83. Ensure the coming into force of regulations enabling ticketing for public drinking
84. Revise legislation dealing with traffic tickets to make prosecutions easier
85. Develop a public relations campaign to encourage compliance with traffic laws
86. Set quotas for traffic officers
87. Develop a culture of vigilance for traffic enforcement rules
88. Have more joint operations between traffic officers and the police
89. Ensure that traffic laws are applied fairly and consistently
90. Put in place a no tolerance policy for the writing off of traffic tickets
91. Begin to develop a program for road rage
92. Do more public relations concerning traffic rules
93. Begin to discuss legislation regulating pedestrians
94. Enforce laws dealing with bicyclists
95. Work more closely with Restore Belize on enforcing quality of life crimes
96. Develop greater partnerships with business to ensure compliance with tax laws
97. Have in place a system of customer service training for street-level officers
98. Ensure that the Local Building Authority is operational and effective
99. Strengthen the City Planning Department to be able to better enforce building codes
100. Develop a system to deal effectively with abandoned vehicles

Belize Ciity Council working for its residents

Wed, 14 Apr 2010 22:16:01 +0100

Public Space Development Project

On Wednesday, April 11th 2012, Mayor Darrell Bradley and the Belize City Councillors officially launched the Council’s” One Hundred Day Action Plan” in an effort to reiterate to the citizens of Belize it commitment to creating a responsive and accountable government, ensuring that the city is clean and developing infrastructure.. The Mayor emphasized that the One Hundred Day Action Plan began from the time they entered office on March 8th, 2012.

To date, the Council has rehabilitated several streets in the City including Maskall Street, River-side Street, Mateo Ayuso Street and Clifton Betson Street. Presently, the Council is working on Maurice Bishop Street and the rehabilitation of streets continues throughout the city.

Councilor Roger Espejo and his team have been working day and night to beautify the City through its “Public Space Development Project”. The objective of the project in not only to plant trees, but to create an environment whereby Belizeans and tourists alike can enjoy Belize.

The Council’s Sanitation and Public Health Departments will be working closely with area representatives in the City to coordinate the bushing and cleaning of overgrown lots. The first phase has already started in the Lake Independence Division where over one hundred overgrown lots were identified for cutting and clearing.

Councilor Kevin Singh whose portfolio includes Parks and Public Spaces has already received commitments from different institutions to adopt a number of parks in Belize City. The Belize City Council is committed to making Belize City a cleaner, safer and more beautiful place for its residents

Mayor Moya Flowers receives Queen’s Relay Baton

Wed, 14 Apr 2010 22:09:49 +0100

Mayor Moya receives Queen’s Baton from Michael Graham

The Queen’s Relay Baton arrived to some fanfare in Belize on Wednesday afternoon at the Phillip Goldson International Airport. The baton is crossing all 71 Commonwealth countries before October’s XIX Commonwealth Games in New Delhi, India. Belize is the 47th country and it arrived from the Bahamas. It was handed over to the members of Belize’s National cycling team who hoisted the two kilogram baton high and in a scorching afternoon sun proudly led a motorcade as they rode with it from the Airport to the Stella Maris School on Princess Margaret Drive.

After a short Stella Maris Campus, cyclist Byron Pope handed the baton to Michael Graham who won gold in the 200 meter race in the 2008 Special Olympics. Graham in turn handed it to Belize City Mayor Zenida Moya-Flowers. She graciously represents the common heritage shared by Commonwealth countries.

On Thursday afternoon, the Mayor will formally hand the baton to Minister of Sports, Information, and Broadcasting Hon. Elvin Penner after a parade through the streets. It heads to Belmopan on April 9th. On its way, it will stop briefly at the Youth Hostel at mile 21. Thereafter, in Belmopan it will be presented to Mayor Simeon Lopez. A party of athletes will then relay it to the Governor General Sir Colville Young and British High Commissioner Patrick Ashworth.

The Queen’s Relay Baton is state of the art. It is gold plated and weights about 1,900 grams or roughly two kilograms. Its skin is made of soils from all 28 states in India which were laminated onto the baton. A special feature is that it has been pre programmed to change colors to adjust to the country it is visiting. So when it arrived in Belize the colors changed to red, blue, and white.

More importantly, the Baton carries in it a message from the Queen Elizabeth II which has been inscribed in micro-calligraphy in an 18 karat gold leaf. The message will b read by the queen on opening night of the Commonwealth Games. Prior to the new technology, the message was written on a piece of paper. The baton is also equipped with a camera and a GPS locater to track its movements.

Belize is the 47th stop for the baton which left Buckingham in England in October. It leaves Belize on Friday for Bermuda after which it will travel to Canada and then Australia. The Commonwealth Games in India from October 3rd to the 14th Belize will be sending a contingent of 18 athletes.

“Government at your Service”

CITCO elects new Deputy Mayor

Mon, 22 Mar 2010 14:44:12 +0100

Councillor Phillip Willoughby - New Deputy Mayor

The Belize City Council hereby informs the general public that the Council has elected a new Deputy Mayor for the period March, 1st 2010- February, 28th 2011. He is Councilor Phillip Willoughby, who has the portfolios of Municipal Courts and Sanitation (Garbage Collection).

The Council further informs that effective February 17th, 2010, Councilor Andrew Faber has been assigned the additional portfolio of Sanitation (Cutting, Cleaning, Canals, and Drains).

The Belize City Council takes this opportunity to wish Councilor Phillip Willoughby all the best in his new position as Deputy Mayor, as we move forward to serving you, our residents, in the year 2010/2011.

“Government at your Service”