Finance Department
Capital
Budget Process
August
The Superintendent of Roads & Works, being
the Chief Technical Officer of the Council, prepares the capital
requirements of the Parish for the
forthcoming financial year by August 31st.
October
The budget is reviewed by the Mayor and
Secretary/Manager and approved by the Finance & Administration
Committee.
November
The budget is submitted to the Ministry of
Local Government along with the recurrent budget for final approval.
Parochial Revenue Fund
Funds raised from the proceeds of Property Tax
receipts and Motor Vehicle Licenses. These funds are allocated
specifically for Public Cleansing and Garbage Disposal, Street
Lighting, Fire Services and Parks and Beautification. Recently,
the National Government passed a legislative amendment allowing
these funds to go to 'any other service or programmes authorized by
the Minister after consultation with the relevant Parish'. Receipts from the
Motor Vehicle Licenses also go towards Road Maintenance.
1. Property Tax receipts
90% of the Property Tax receipts are received
by each Council. The remaining 10% is placed in an equalization
fund (see below).
2. Motor Vehicle License receipts
One third (33 1/3%) of the monies collected go
to the Ministry of Finance for general revenue, while the rest is
remitted to the Ministry of Local Government. This two thirds
(66 1/3%) is then sent out to all the Parish Councils based on the
number of kilometers of roads in each parish. This plan is an attempt to fairly distribute
funds to each parish, as some may have many roads but fewer
registered drivers. St. James in particular collects more funds
from licenses than we are able to keep because we are a small parish
with comparatively fewer roads. In addition, many drivers,
including those from surrounding parishes, are registered in Montego
Bay. Thus, some of our monies are redistributed to other
larger, less populated parishes.
20% of the two thirds is reserved for the
Parish Infrastructure Development Programme. This is an
international loan programme whose funds are spent on
infrastructure, and which requires a financial contribution from the
national government.
Equalization Fund
Purpose: to provide budgetary (capital)
support to the Parish Councils. Comprised of 10% of the
property tax receipts, funds are distributed according to Parish
needs.
Government Grants
The Central Government provides General
Assistance Grants (GAGs) and Specific Grants to cover various
Council expenses.
1. General Assistance Grants
These funds go towards services for retiring
benefits, executive direction & administration, political
directorate, and roads & technical services.
2. Specific Grants
These are grants which cover the exact amount
of services costs. Poor Relief (indoor and outdoor) and Minor
Water Supplies fall under this category.
Self-financing Services
These are services which are expected to
finance themselves and to provide general revenue for the Council.
All such services are contained within the Commercial Services
Unit. These are: markets, cemeteries, abattoir, pounds and
transportation centre / car parks.
Recurrent Budget
The operations budget is revenue and
expenditure for the coming year, covering administration costs
(salaries).
Capital Budget
The capital budget is the long-range plan of
all capital expenditures during the following five years, including
the following:
-
acquisition of land
-
construction of buildings
-
construction of roads & minor water supplies
-
purchase of major equipment
The capital budget shows how the expenditures
are to be financed and any resulting operations costs/savings
expected.
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