Belmopan Mayor Pablo Cawich has moved to alleviate growing concerns among local business owners regarding two separate municipal fee adjustments: pending trade license changes and recalculated garbage collection rates.
Addressing confusion over the new trade license regime, Mayor Cawich assured business owners that any overpayments made during the transition period would be either credited or reassigned once updated official notices are distributed. This clarification comes amid reports of businesses receiving conflicting billing statements.
Simultaneously, City Hall is implementing revised garbage fee structures based on comprehensive reassessments of commercial operations. Mayor Cawich emphasized these adjustments are not arbitrary increases but reflect updated evaluations of two key factors: business square footage and waste generation patterns.
“The commercial garbage rate schedule relies significantly on square footage,” Cawich explained. “When a business undergoes reassessment and its square footage increases, corresponding adjustments to garbage fees become necessary.”
The mayor further detailed that business categorization plays an equally important role, noting that different enterprise types generate varying waste volumes regardless of physical size. This dual-factor approach aims to create a more equitable fee system based on actual service requirements rather than flat rates.
Cawich acknowledged that most increases result from previous garbage fees not matching what should have been charged according to the updated assessment criteria. The municipal government maintains these corrections ensure fair cost distribution for waste management services across Belmopan’s business community.