Again, bywarren, your response assumes that the answer to the vexing problems is funding. I don't see it that way.
I, personally, would object loudly to any increase in property tax liabilities. Even if you increase property taxes, and then temper the increase with a homestead exemption of some sort, it does not change the fact that someone's tax liability has increased, and that can never be a good thing for poor people who are already struggling, which there are exponentially MANY more of in Belize than there are rich retirees.
And, yes, I said "in Belize" not "in San Pedro", because inevitably whatever becomes policy in SP (or anywhere else in the county, for that matter) sets policy for the entire country. Under our system of laws, what becomes "precedent" somewhere sets the stage for it to be copied elsewhere. And I don't think an increase in property taxes is something the majority of Belizeans can afford. You would be throwing out the baby with the bath water going that route, because the less people have the angrier they get. There are many more other imaginative ways to get funding than raising taxes, believe me.
In regards to security issues, the first step I would take is as was suggested before -- hire private security (either as a group of private individuals or even as a municipality). This would at least act as a deterrent until other remedies can be put in place.
Another step would be to start a lobby to have those draconian gun laws changed into something that is more favorable to private gun ownership. The reason predators get away with so much is because individuals have a hard time arming/defending themselves, and the predators know this. The laws of Belize as they are written state pretty much that if you are found with a gun in your possession or on your premises, and you cannot prove legal ownership of it, then you are considered guilty until proven innocent. Yet, the armed robber is considered innocent until proven guilty. Go figure. If you are an innocent visitor in a home where your host has a gun stored somewhere, but he/she cannot find the license for it when he/she is raided by the police (while you are innocently in the home), even though you did not know about it, you are still hauled off because you are still guilty until proven innocent. And the law also states that the police can raid any establishment without a warrant if they are looking for guns and/or drugs. So, if your neighbor who doesn't like you (or Gawd forbid -- the predator who wants to ensure you are disarmed before he attacks you) makes a malicious call to the cops indicating merely a suspicion of a gun in your place, your life can become hell. With all these draconian laws on our books, you can see why we, the average citizen, will continue to be victims. We are all too scared to defend ourselves for obvious reasons.
At least when you hire private security, gun-issue liabilities revert to the security firm and not to you individually. Hence, my suggestion that you go that route first.
As to the police, they are usually well meaning but they are limited by their circumstances (understaffed, underfunded, underpaid, etc.). I really believe they do the best they can under the circumstances. They just operate under dire circumstances and there seems to be a lack of political will to change those circumstances. Even with any extra funding you provide, it is highly unlikely their circumstances will change, because the command does not report directly to your municipal body, it reports to Belmopan. And there is clearly a disconnect between GoB's needs and SP's needs. (Or any private individual's needs, or they would have done more to halt crime before it spread this far in the first instance.)
Which is why I recommend, again, that you as a citizens group go about providing security privately. That way you are in the driver's seat.
AmbergrisCaye.com 
