WICO Blames Crown Bay Cruise Traffic for Stalled Growth, Inability to Pay $10 Million Owed to Gov't

The West Indian Company’s financial woes have sent the company into a “downward spiral” according to chair of the Senate Budget, Appropriations and Finance Committee Donna Frett-Gregory, as she admonished WICO representatives to find more creative ways to generate income.

Ms. Frett-Gregory and her colleagues on the committee were listening to WICO CEO Anthoney Ottley on Tuesday as he detailed the difficulties the company is facing in bouncing back in the post-pandemic years.

Chief among its financial troubles is WICO’s inability to pay their PILOT (payment in lieu of taxes), a $700,000 annual fee remitted to the Government of the Virgin Islands. For Mr. Ottley, “WICO’s growth and progress continue to be stymied by the burdensome $700,000 annual payment.” The PILOT was last paid in full in 2006. Since then, WICO has accrued a debt of over $10 million to taxpayers, despite making some payments along the way.

WICO’s inability to pay the PILOT is also due to the development of Crown Bay and the Austin "Babe" Monsanto Marine Terminal, Mr. Ottley said, which according to him “siphoned more than 30 percent of WICO’s cruise ship traffic to its facilities without the company receiving the immediate necessary reduction in its pilot,” Mr. Ottley accused. He confirmed to Senator Dwayne DeGraff that WICO would welcome the “forgiveness of the PILOT” and the establishment of a new payment system calculated as “a percentage of our net operating expenses.” WICO is suggesting 5%.