THE EDITOR, Sir:LAST WEEK a close friend of mine had her vehicle towed in downtown Kingston. She was forced to spend a few thousand dollars to have her vehicle released from the pound. She lamented to me that her car was towed from Church Street to the pound, which was a journey of less than a mile. She was also surprised that the fees were so high as her car was at the pound for less than an hour.
This prompted me to wonder how much revenue the KSAC was realising from this "service" to the community. I was flabbergasted to find that there was no reference to income from towing in the KSAC financial information I was privileged to peruse.
The explanation given to me was that the towing was contracted out. I am amazed as this is a potential source of great revenue to the council.
Who benefits when this service is contracted out? Who owns the tow trucks? I ask these questions against the background that the KSAC and the mayor have spent $2.4 million on a backhoe that had absolutely no revenue earning potential for the city.
I guess the superstar Mayor was considering the positive image of himself at the controls as the backhoe was removing streets signs.
It seems that local government reform is a forgotten dream. I hope His Worship has received the proceeds of the promised new $5.1 million backhoe and will use it to clear the rural roads of St. Andrew, which still remain blocked since Hurricane Ivan. I also beseech him to consult at least with his finance committee before committing the city's funds to the purchase of major assets.
I am, etc.,
K.Y. TAYLOR
kytaylor@hotmail.com
