Village Council
Three (3) years.
Inactive members can resign or be disqualified if found to be of unsound mind under any law in force in Belize or miss three consecutive meetings without just cause.
Yes, a Village Council has the power to appoint committees to assist the council in carrying out its duties.
A Village Fund is referred to as “People’s Money” comprising of liquor license fees, monies generated from fund raising, fines and fees paid in respect to non-compliance with the Village Council Act, or rules, regulations and by laws and in villages where Alcaldes exists, court fines.
The village fund is used to pay expenses incurred by the Village Council in the execution of their duties which includes: cleanliness of streets and public places, care and maintenance of public properties such as community center etc.
Liquor License
No, one must submit monthly reports before the inception of the process for the disbursement of Liquor License payments.
Water Boards
No, Water Boards are appointed by the Minister of Rural Transformation after consultation with the Area Representative and Village Council for the village where the water system is located.
Yes, after approval is sought from the Minister Responsible for Rural Transformation.
The reason for this is because the cost of operation of each rudimentary water system (RWS) is not same; some have a higher maintenance cost than others and water systems need to be sustainable.
The cost of a connection should be different for each water system because it should cover the expense of all supplies, materials and labour needed for that connection. There are some water boards that allows the customer to do trenching thus reducing the amount charged for the connection fee.
According to the regulations that govern the Village Council and Water Board, it states that no member of the water board shall be an employee of the board hence, they have oversight for the daily operations of the water system. Allowances to water board members can be given but approval is needed by the House of Representatives.
No, the water board does not have that responsibility but they are mandated to report to the Ministry of Rural Transformation, Community Development, Labour and Local Government. The Village Council representative on the water board has the responsibility to relay all pertinent information to the villagers as he/she is the people’s representative on the water board.
No. The Water Board should have a new connection fee which should cover the cost of a new water meter.
Rural Water Supply Sanitation Unit
Yes, we certainly can. The first step is to download and fill in the form from here: Well Drilling Application. Once you have filled in the form, you can drop it off at your nearest Rural Transformation Office, or at the main office in Belmopan. Do note however that the primary focus of the well rigs is to support rural water systems and therefore approval for drilling farm wells can take several months before it is approved.
