Driver’s Licence fee,
other fees increased
~ NA: Put burden where money is ~
PHILIPSBURG--Motorists will have to pay NAf. 35 more for the new credit card-size drivers’ licences that will be issued as of today, Thursday, February 7. The Island Council approved the fee increase by five votes to three, Wednesday afternoon.
The increase from NAf. 65 to NAf. 100, as well as increased fees for Dutch passport applications, identification cards, Census Office registration forms, birth certificates and hurricane passes, did not sit well with National Alliance (NA), whose members urged government to find better ways of collecting revenues.
The Alliance contends that the island’s population is being overburdened by more and more fee increases while wages and salaries remain unchanged.
“The burden should be placed where the money is,” said NA councilman George Pantophlet. In this regard he identified the yachting sector and high-priced rental villas in the Lowlands. He also reminded government that the proposed “condominium tax” was still pending on the books.
The old fee comprised NAf. 50 for the licence and NAf. 15 for the proof of registration. With the new fee, paying for a proof of registration is no longer necessary.
Transportation Commissioner Louie Laveist estimates that the new fee will generate about NAf. 320,000 annually for government, based on the yearly issuance of about 3,200 licences.
Laveist explained that the increase initially would offset the cost of the new automated administration system for the drivers’ licences. Of three proposals, SQL Multi Post was chosen for the project, which cost NAf. 383,763.
The Control and Inspection Bureau (CIB) staff has been trained to use the equipment and is ready for the challenge of changing the 15,000 drivers’ licences that are registered on the Dutch side, Laveist said.
The bureau is closed to the public today and Friday to facilitate the transfer of files to its new location in the Census Office on Pond Island. Only the administering of the driving test will be carried out in the Yellow Building on Tamarindesteeg.
As of today, the bureau will begin to handle the backlog of pending renewals and new licences. At 4:00pm, members of the Island Council will be the first to receive their new licences at the Census Office.
The ordinance regulating government fees will also be amended to increase the price for Dutch passport applications. The old price of NAf. 130 will remain for children under age 12 and pensioners (age 60 and over). The new fee of NAf. 150 will apply to everyone else. About 4,716 new or renewed passports are issued annually. Of the fee, NAf. 96.65 will remain in government’s coffers and NAf. 53.35 is remitted to the Netherlands for processing cost.
The fee for identification cards is now NAf. 35. The old fee of NAf. 15 is still applicable for minors and pensioners.
The Census Office registration form fee has increased by NAf. 2.50 from NAf. 15. The fee for birth certificates is now NAf. 25, up from NAf. 17.50. The fee for Hurricane Passes was also increased, from NAf. 30 to NAf. 50.
NA Councilman Hyacinth Richardson chided Laveist at the start of the meeting for only mentioning the Driver’s Licence fee increase, when a long list was before the Council for approval. Saying that the package of increases had been provided to the council members, Laveist went on to highlight increases of the “most commonly requested services.”
“Government has to be careful about bringing burden upon burden on the people of this island,” NA councilman Rodolphe Samuel told the Council. Like his two NA colleagues, Samuel voted against the increases, saying government should find a way to generate more funds without making the people pay “more, more and more.”
Also present for the Island Council meeting, which also dealt with the denial of a director’s licence to a non-national, were Commissioners Sarah Wescot-Williams, Roy Marlin and Maria Buncamper-Molanus and Island Councilman Leroy de Weever, all of the Democratic Party.
