Gov’t looking to restructure building fees

THE GOVERNMENT is looking to review the building fees charged by municipal authorities with the aim of putting a standardised system in place and ensuring that the fees for development projects are in keeping with current realities.

Developers have long raised concerns about the fragmented nature of the fees charged by various local authorities and the resultant complications.

Minister of Local Government and Community Development Desmond McKenzie, who met with the mayors, chief executive officers, and chief engineering officers from the 14 municipal corporations at his Hagley Park Road offices on November 27, noted that “in nine out of 10 cases, the fees that we charge are considered outdated and don’t bear any real relevance to modern times.”

“Also, one of the handicaps surrounding the performance of the municipal corporations is lack of adequate funding. It is important, therefore, that we all understand and appreciate that the fees that we charge are critical to our survival, so an attempt must be made to maximise to their full potential the fees that are available and to have a serious review of the existing fee structure,” he added.

McKenzie noted, for example, that the Kingston and St Andrew Municipal Corporation (KSAMC) had not made any changes to the cell tower building fee since he demitted the office of Mayor of Kingston in 2011.

As the same time, the St Catherine Municipal Corporation’s fee for the same category was more than five times that of the KSAMC.