Commissioner Urges Rating System Overhaul Before Island-Wide Leisure Rate Implementation

Juan McGuiness, a Ramsey Commissioner and northern local authority member, stated that the underlying structure of the ratings system must be “fixed” prior to the implementation of an all-island leisure rate. He commented that while the proposal from one of the town’s national politicians was interesting, he believed it would not “get very far”. Lawrie Hooper, a Member of the House of Keys, has proposed a motion to establish the leisure rate, designating the funds specifically for regional swimming pools. However, McGuinness contended that the foundations of the island’s 50-year-old rating system were “fundamentally flawed” and required prior attention. Hooper asserted that the existing method of funding regional pools via local rates was inequitable, given that residents in the east were not levied a rate to support the National Sports Centre (NSC) pool. McGuinness, conversely, stated that despite the MHK framing the proposed new charge “in the context of rate reform”, it amounted to “simply a tax on Douglas residents to help pay for the NSC”. McGuinness pointed out that the current swimming pool rate system is not compulsory, having been adopted by local authorities on a discretionary payment basis. He emphasized the necessity for “actual, full rate reform” across the entire island, noting that the current system has been in place for 50 years. McGuinness elaborated, stating, “It’s based on a time in the island when living in the country wasn’t as beneficial as living in town, so all our rates are completely skew-whiff and out of date.” He further indicated that while he recognized Hooper’s framing of the swimming pool rate adjustment as a potential route to broader rate reform, he considered it an inappropriate starting point. He concluded by saying, “I think when you’ve got such a fundamentally flawed system underneath, adding more of what is effectively taxes on top just hits the same people in the same way and doesn’t solve anything.”