St James Corporation recovers J$8.1m from delinquent advertisers after enforcement push

WESTERN BUREAU: Enforcement action by the St James Municipal Corporation (StJMC) has prompted seven of 15 delinquent advertisers to settle a portion of their outstanding fees, with payments totalling roughly J$8.1 million reaching the corporation in recent days.

Montego Bay Mayor Richard Vernon, who chairs the StJMC, confirmed that the sums were received up to last Wednesday. The collections have trimmed an arrears balance previously cited at the corporation's last monthly meeting as J$30 million, with the most recent figure for the 15 named advertisers placed at J$16.3 million.

"To date, seven advertisers have complied with their obligations following our enforcement action that was taken in the week of April 20," Vernon said. "Payments were received over a four-day period, beginning April 24 and continuing through to April 29. The StJMC has collected $8,150,861.00 so far, reducing the original outstanding amount to $8,157,759.50."

Vernon said the corporation had been pushed to act because of a growing pattern of non-payment. "This is not the first time we have had to address non-compliance, but the corporation has acted now due to the increase in delinquency. We have a city to run, and running a city requires adequate and reliable funding," he said. "Our resources are already stretched, and whenever there is a fallout in revenue, we must intensify compliance activities to protect the city's ability to function effectively."

The 15 advertisers had earlier been served notices instructing them to settle their fees within the week of April 13. When that deadline passed without payment, the corporation moved to enforce compliance, including the removal of advertising signs.

Under Section 19 of the Town and Country Planning (Control of Advertisements) Regulations of 1978, a local planning authority may issue an enforcement notice where an advertisement is displayed without permission or where the terms of a granted permission have been breached. The regulation allows the authority to act after a period of not less than 28 days, with options that include demolishing or altering the offending sign.

Section 21 of the same regulations permits the authority, where a notice is ignored within the stipulated time, to take additional steps to secure compliance and to recover reasonable costs through the local court.

The eight advertisers still in default will receive a further warning from the StJMC, with continued non-payment expected to attract additional measures.

"We have received no communication from the remaining advertisers who are still in arrears, and they will be contacted once more by telephone and email. Until full compliance is achieved, the enforcement measures currently in place will be maintained," Vernon said.

"To encourage faster compliance going forward, the corporation will implement closer monitoring of accounts and restructured payment arrangements where appropriate. Advertisers will be formally advised of these strengthened measures," he added.