The Virgin Islands Senate on Wednesday overrode a veto by Gov. John deJongh Jr. of a bill that grants a 90-day amnesty on property tax bills.
The override on Senate Bill 30-0066 took place during Wednesday’s marathon session of the full Legislature, which was highlighted by the Senate’s 11-3 rejection of the proposed amendment to the Third Hovensa Concession Agreement. (See story, "Senate Rejects Hovensa Deal”) The session began shortly after 10 a.m. and was finally gaveled to a close about 8:20 p.m.
The property tax relief bill, sponsored by Sens. Kenneth Gittens and Janette Millin Young, institutes a 90-day amnesty period during which all interest and fees on delinquent real property tax bills due and owing for the tax years 2008, 2009, 2010 and 2011, would be waived if those bills were paid in full. Its goal, according to the sponsors, is to create a quick increase in payment of past-due bills to bring revenue into the treasury.
DeJongh’s July 20 veto of the measure called the assertion that it would spur additional revenue collection “dubious,” and said it was "nothing more than an insult to those responsible taxpayers who have paid their taxes on time or who have paid the requisite fees, interest and penalties on past due property taxes for the years in question.”
The vote to override was unanimous, with little discussion, although during the debate on the Hovensa measure several senators complained that deJongh was willing to make concessions to a multi-billion dollar company but not to V.I. taxpayers.
Senators in attendance, who all voted yes, included Gittens, Young, Sens. Judi Buckley, Diane Capehart, Donald Cole, Clifford Graham, Alicia “Chucky” Hansen, Myron Jackson, Shawn-Michael Malone, Terrence “Positive” Nelson, Nereida "Nellie" Rivera-O’Reilly, Clarence Payne, Tregenza Roach and Sammuel Sanes. Sen. Craig Barshinger was absent, reportedly out of the territory.
The senators also approved the appointment of four people to the Virgin Islands Housing Authority Board. In the St. Thomas District, Luis Sylvester, Dr. Noreen Michael and George Black Hall were all unanimously approved, as was Daphne Edwards in the St. Croix District.
In other business, the Senate approved two lease agreements and quitclaim deeds. The action swaps parcels of land owned by the Department of Property and Procurement and the V.I. Port Authority on Hassel Island. The result gives VIPA a single, contiguous property which officials say can be more easily developed.
"DPNR and VIPA will swap properties that will make the Port Authority much more solvent," Jackson said in urging approval. He also noted the trade gives DPNR jurisdiction over potential cultural resources on the island’s Signal Hill.
The Senate also approved six zoning requests:
– Gregory Parris/Strong Construction Inc. – Application No. ZAC-13-05 to rezone Plot No. 303 Clifton Hill from R-2 (residential-low density – one and two family) to B-3 (business scattered);
– Rookmin and Sally Balkaran – Application No. ZAC-13-06 to rezone Plot No. 498-G Strawberry Hill, Queen Quarter, St. Croix, from R-2 (residential-low density – one and two family) to B-3 (business scattered);
– Arriana Khan-Poyah – Application No. ZAC-13-07 to rezone Plot No. 10 Estate Castle Coakley, Queen Quarter, St. Croix, from R-2 (residential-low density – one and two family) to B-3 (business scattered);
– Adeline Javois Brandt – Application No. ZAC-13-08, requesting a use variance to the R-2 (residential-low density – one and two family) zoned Plot No. 205 Estate Barren Spot, King Quarter, St. Croix;
– Daniel Kevin Smith – Application No. ZAJ-12-02 to rezone Plot No. 15C-10 Estate Rendezvous and Ditleff, No 1 Cruz Bay Quarter, St. John, from R-1 (residential-low density) to R-2 (residential-low density, one and two family);
– And the Government Employees’ Retirement System – Application No. ZAC-13-02 for planned area development on plots Remainder Matricular No. 1, Remainder Matricular No. 15 and Matricular No. 16-B Estate Coakley Bay, East End A and B Quarters, St. Croix.
