Mayors Association rejects laying off municipal workers to repeal inventory tax
- The San Juan Daily Star
- 10 hours ago
- 2 min read
By THE STAR STAFF
Puerto Rico Mayors Association President Jorge “Georgie” González Otero has strongly rejected a proposed solution to the ongoing issues related to the inventory tax, floated by United Retailers Center (CUD by its acronym in Spanish) President Dr. Ramón Barquín III, that would involve laying off hundreds of municipal employees.
Barquín made the suggestion last week during a local news program (Noticentro).
González Otero responded, “Barquín needs to think carefully about his public statements. First, his comments reflect a troubling bias against public service. Second, it’s imprudent to suggest such drastic measures. He even claimed that some municipalities in Puerto Rico have populations of fewer than 1,200 inhabitants, which is false.”
According to the latest U.S. Census (2020), the municipality with the smallest population in Puerto Rico is Culebra, which has 1,792 residents.
González Otero, who is the mayor of Jayuya (population 14,653, according to census data from 2023), challenged Barquín’s assertion, saying, “He should speak to Edilberto Romero, the mayor of Culebra, who is not a member of my party, and propose that he lay off municipal employees. Who will provide public services to the people of Culebra then?”
The Mayors Association groups island mayors affiliated with the Popular Democratic Party.
In the television interview, Barquín argued for the elimination of the inventory tax, claiming it increases prices and negatively impacts the economy. However, González Otero pointed out the irony in Barquín’s admission to the press that eliminating the tax would not necessarily lead to lower prices for consumers.
“We are all consumers,” the Mayors Association president emphasized. “I want to reiterate our support for public service and for promoting local entrepreneurship. The solution cannot be to resort to hasty layoffs; that is unacceptable.”