City hall to increase tax take sans hike

By NITZ ARANCON
and LITO RULONA
Correspondents .

CITY hall is planning to increase its revenues without increasing local taxes by stepping up collection efforts next year, Mayor Oscar Moreno said over the weekend.

Moreno said this after he submitted to the city council what he called as an “ambitious” P6.5-billion budget proposal for city hall for 2019.

In Moreno’s proposal, 55 percent of the 2019 budget would be spent on services, infrastructure and other city hall programs while 45 percent would be for personnel services, inclusive of the salaries of its officials and workers.

The proposed 2019 budget shows an increase of  about 10 percent compared to city hall’s P5.8-billion budget this year.

“We will be increasing our collection revenues but there will be no new taxes, and there will be no increase in rates,” he said.

Moreno cited the real property taxes being imposed by city hall which he said are based on the 2010 rates. He said that if he could have his way, the real property taxes need some adjustment.

He said he is optimistic that the city council would give the proposed 2019 city hall budget the green light although he expects local legislators to debate and not approve everything in the proposal as is.

“There will be some discussion kay I don’t expect them to approve  everything in toto. Ila kanang i-discuss ug tan-awon unsa ba kini nga program, angay ba suportahan, or there may be other programs that they may have in mind,” Moreno said.

Vice Mayor Raineir Joaquin Uy said he has directed his staff to provide councilors copies of Moreno’s proposed annual budget as they prepare to deliberate on the proposal.

“Ipaeview nato ang proposed budget and they were told nga kung duna’y programa nga alang sa katawhan nga nagkulang kinahanglan nga i-apil,” Uy said.

He said city hall’s top priorities programs would be education, livelihood, health, shelter, scholarships and infrastructure projects.

In his budget message, Moreno said city hall projects to generate P6.5 billion next year or a general fund of P5.880 billion and a special account on economic enterprises amounting to P619.459 million.

A dispatch from the city council’s information office quoted Moreno as saying that the objectives are to provide more responsive social services along education, health, adequate shelter assistance, employment opportunities, agricultural and fishery extension services.

Moreno said the local government would work to provide sustainable job generation and employment opportunities by strengthening its jobs placement bureau so as to translate job vacancies into employment.

On ensuring food security, Moreno said, city hall would sustain efforts along good agricultural practices, provide technical support for organic farmers, and improve vegetable production clustering.

Moreno said local tax revenues are projected to reach P3.207 billion or 49.35 percent of the proposed budget while non-tax revenues are seen to reach P1.022 billion or 15.73 percent of the proposed budget.

He said city hall expects external revenue sources are projected to reach P1.761 billion or 27.11 percent of the proposed budget. City hall’s internal revenue allotment, he said, amounts to P1.665 billion or 25.62 percent, an increase of about 10.13 percent compared to that of this year’s.