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In a release issued late Wednesday, the Democratic Party of the Virgin Islands said it took strong exception to Governor Kenneth Mapp’s recent veto of the property tax amnesty, which the Party says comes at a time when the governor is insisting on property tax sales — an effort the Party says it is vehemently opposed to.

“We are particularly concerned about such sales that would involve homes and other property belonging to Virgin Islands families. Such sales would affect families on all Islands but would be particularly devastating on the Island of St. John,” says the Party.

During a press conference held at Government House in St. Thomas on March 22, the governor said there was over $103 million in delinquent property taxes owed to the Government of the Virgin Islands, and that he had tasked the Office of the Lieutenant Governor (O.L.G.) to collect no less than $25 million by September. He said the O.L.G. was set to publish a listing of 1,953 delinquent parcels for property taxes totaling $29.4 million. A subsequent sale was set to take place in June or July with an equal amount of property taxes, Mr. Mapp said. The funds, the governor said, were needed to keep critical government services operational, as well as preventing the furloughing of government employees.

“In order to make it to the end of the fiscal year without affecting working hours and any closure of schools, the lieutenant governor’s office is asked to bring in at least $15 million of delinquent property taxes. But I have set a mandate that the Office of the Lieutenant Governor and the Tax Assessor, must produce $25 million in delinquent property tax collections by September 30, 2017,” Mr. Mapp said. The governor said the goal of $25 million will be achieved either by payment, coming into an agreement with the tax assessors, or sale of the delinquent property. “There will be no exceptions,” he said. “It is imperative that we collect this money to the end of the fiscal year to ensure the delivery of critical services the Virgin Islands community.”

In his veto message regarding the amnesty bill, Mr. Mapp said the legislation would have placed undue burdens on the Department of Planning and Natural Resources and the Department of Licensing and Consumer Affairs, which would be required to act on certain applications within a limited time period. The agencies would not have sufficient time to ensure compliance with requirements of law, he stated. Mr. Mapp pointed out that the current law requires the governor to explain in detail any disapproval of benefits. He cautioned the Legislature against removing him from the process, arguing that such a move risks signaling to beneficiaries that they need not comply fully with the benefit contracts they execute.

The Democratic Party, however, said the Mapp administration should search for alternative ways to raise funds in its attempt to keep the government afloat through the current fiscal crisis.

“There have to be other ways to raise the $40 million dollars, and other avenues to address families which have accumulated large property tax debts — especially with the recent valuations which have quadrupled their taxes in some cases,” said the Party. “We hereby call on the Honorable members of the 32nd Legislature to override the governor’s veto and on the Honorable Kenneth Mapp to stop the planned sales.”

The Party, whose members joined with the governor to ratify the sin tax and property tax measures, encouraged the majority caucus, led by nine Democrats, to begin with urgency the exploration of new ways to raise revenues and reduce operating expenses in a systematic and thoughtful way, “using a scalpel, not an axe,” the Party said.

“Only by paying down our huge debt will we regain the confidence, not only of the financial sector, but of the local community,” the Party concluded.