Tuesday, July 22, 2008 New city treasurer targets 50% hike in tax collection
CEBU City Hall’s new treasurer wants to increase this year’s revenues by as much as 50 percent, which would mean a target collection of at least P300 billion.
Bureau of Local Government Finance (BLGF) 7 Director Renee Empaces also warned tax delinquents that the City will be more aggressive in revenue collection and putting up for public auction those properties with unpaid taxes.
Inefficiencies at the City Treasurer’s Office prompted Mayor Tomas Osmeña to appoint Empaces as the concurrent city treasurer, replacing officer-in-charge Tessie Camarillo.
Osmeña believes the department’s performance will improve under Empa-ces, who will be creating teams, each of which will handle one specific revenue.
In an interview with reporters yesterday, Empa-ces said there is no revamp within the CTO since Camarillo was treasurer in an acting capacity.
Since assuming her post last week, she has set the target collection for the teams and identified team members who will be tasked to focus on the different revenue sources, including real property taxes, business taxes, fees and charges, among others.
Target
From last year’s realized collection of P2.07 billion, target collection for this year would be at least P3 billion. Last year’s estimated collection was P2.29 billion.
“We will be monitoring them and reports will be made by them regularly. We have set a targeted increase in revenues by 50 percent but as to how we will go about it, we have yet to tackle that,” Empaces said.
“This office will be so serious in a lot of collection efforts, including delinquencies and current collectibles. All efforts should be doubled in terms of collection... Taxpayers should already expect a public auction,” Empaces added.
As for the schools and hospitals that have unpaid taxes of at least P250 million from 2001 to 2004 alone, the treasurer said that she still has to review the matter and find out what the City has done about it.
Weakness
In his news conference yesterday, Osmeña lamented that Camarillo’s management style “shows a weakness in her administration, especially in the payment of overtime pay and salaries of employees.”
The lack of qualified and competent personnel prompted the mayor to get department heads outside City Hall.
“I don’t have complaints on dishonesty against her (Camarillo), it’s more like she can’t handle the whole department,” he said. Camarillo, the current assistant city treasurer, declined from making any statement.
Negative
But for Empaces, there is no problem and no revamp within the CTO.
“There’s no negative situation here, nothing that should be seen as a problem... We are just enhancing operations, creating teams that shall focus on different revenues and augmentation of revenues in Cebu City. Miss Camarillo will still be handling operations and will be working with me,” she said.
Since she is reporting to City Hall in a concurrent position, Empaces will not be receiving monetary compensation from the City and will only be paid as BLGF 7 director. (LCR)
