CRIM presents plan to help financially ailing towns

Sen. José A. Santiago Rivera, chairman of the Committee on Municipal Affairs

By THE STAR STAFF

The Municipal Revenue Collections Center (CRIM by its acronym in Spanish), through its interim executive director, Javier J. García Cintrón, appeared Monday before the Senate Committee on Municipal Affairs to present comments on Senate Joint Resolution 79, which would order the CRIM and its governing board to create and implement a special project for the benefit of the municipalities of Las Marías, Florida, Maricao, Comerío, Maunabo, Villalba, Adjuntas, Jayuya, Ciales, Guayanilla, Patillas, Guánica, Loíza, Arroyo, Corozal, Ceiba, Naguabo and Orocovis, in response to the reduction in transfers from the central government to the Equalization Fund, and for other related purposes.

The CRIM is the tax service entity whose primary responsibility includes collecting, receiving and distributing public funds derived from the assessment, levying and collection of property taxes, both personal and real, pursuant to Law No. 107 of Aug. 13, 2020, as amended, known as the “Municipal Code of Puerto Rico,” which correspond to the municipalities.

The CRIM’s authority extends equally to all 78 municipalities of Puerto Rico, as clearly stated in the law’s statement of purpose.

The CRIM interim executive director, in a brief statement to the press, noted that the plan approved by the entity’s board to work with municipalities currently experiencing financial hardship following the elimination of the Equalization Fund “will also be presented to the [Popular Democratic Party Mayors] Association and the [New Progressive Party Mayors] Federation to determine how we will begin implementing the plan for appraisers and investigators in the municipalities.”

“The CRIM will pay two employees -- an investigator and an appraiser -- for at least one year to each municipality,” García Cintrón said. “We’re talking about an employee potentially earning $1,700 starting from home. Would this also increase appraisals in those same municipalities? Yes, it would. There are also municipalities that don’t have the money to pay a CRIM employee, so we would subsidize them.”

Sen. José A. Santiago Rivera, chairman of the Committee on Municipal Affairs, expressed satisfaction with the proposal presented by the CRIM to help municipalities facing financial difficulties.

“There is an agreement, and we believe that it was made clear today that they are aligned in working to secure funding for municipalities that are vulnerable and financially solvent …” Santiago Rivera said. “Yes, … today it was revealed here, in this hearing, not only the intention of this resolution we presented, to give priority attention to updating the appraisals and investigations at the CRIM regarding those municipalities most affected by the elimination of the equalization fund, but also that the interim director -- and I think it’s important that he cease being interim so that they can properly begin working on these projects -- has expressed his willingness to increase the number of appraisers, which I believe is vital; that number can be doubled. I believe that’s what the [Financial Oversight and Management] Board is demanding: that the CRIM update its collection of taxes from the many properties that should be paying but aren’t.

“In other words, we’re not talking about increasing anyone’s payments; we’re talking about ensuring that those who aren’t paying, and are supposed to be, are up to date.”

“I believe it’s the right thing to do,” continued Santiago Rivera, who previously was the longtime mayor of Comerío. “It aligns with the direction the [oversight] board is requesting in its fiscal plan, and on the other hand, it helps resolve the situation of the municipalities that are being hit hard by the elimination of these government transfers. Will it be like increased oversight? Yes, it is oversight, but at the same time, it’s efficiency in terms of the work that CRIM is responsible for doing. I think the director is very clear on that.

“With this resolution, what we seek is to emphasize, first and foremost, are those [towns] most affected. I believe that should be a priority. There are some small municipalities that were hit hardest by the elimination of the equalization fund, that lost more than half of their budget, and that are the ones with the largest vulnerable populations below the poverty line,” the senator said. “So, what we are doing here is attending to those who need it most. I am not here advocating for mayors or municipal structures, whom I greatly respect, but for the people who live in those municipalities.”