We are pleased to announce that two Lands & Survey employees have recently completed their studies and been awarded a Certificate in Land Registration Law and Practice.

The Certificate is awarded by The College of Law (of England and Wales) in association with the UK Land Registry.

Wendee Miller-Burke and Regina Ebanks were sponsored by the department and undertook a one year distance learning programme.

Congratulations to Wendee and Regina on a job well done!

Footnote: Two further employees (Jackie Carter and Joy Powell) will be commencing studies for the same qualification this month, and Regina Ebanks will be continuing her studies for a Diploma in Land Registration Law and Practice. We wish them well in their endeavours.

Wendee Miller Burke and Regina Ebanks

The annual event was held at Seaharvest restaurant and attended by over 50 staff and guests. It is the seventh year running that the event has been held.

The Permanent Secretary from The Ministry of D.A.W.L.A. (Mr. K, Gomez, MBE, JP) was the special guest and spoke to staff regarding their accomplishments over the past year. He was joined in attendance by Julie Campbell, the Acting Chief Human Resource Officer.

The 2010 Employee of the Year award winner was Mathew Le Seelleur from the Valuation & Estates Office. He was presented with his award and prize by The Director of Lands & Survey, Alan Jones: “ Mathew has worked tirelessly during the last year during which the Valuation & Estates Office has been carrying a very high workload whilst at the same time being down on their establishment levels. His integrity, professionalism and friendly demeanor have really stood out and he has been an example to all employees. He is a worthy winner of the award and I thank him for all his efforts on behalf of the department”.

The 5th URISA Caribbean GIS Conference is being held at the Cascadia Conference Centre in Port of Spain, Trinidad. It was last held here in the Cayman Islands at the Ritz Carlton in 2008. Previous conferences have taken place in Jamaica (2001), Barbados (2004), and the Bahamas (2006). The theme for this year’s conference is “Geospatial Technologies: Connecting our Industries in Meeting the Region’s Challenges.”

There is currently a call for presentations expiring on 20th of August. If you have the ability to attend this year’s conference and have ideas for sharing your knowledge of GIS in your industry please submit your abstracts via their website by the deadline. On this webpage you will find information on presentation suggestions, selection criteria, presentation format options, and conference & accommodation costs.

For more information please see the URISA Caribbean Conference website.

Lands & Survey Department is pleased to announce a new section of the Cayman Land Info website, which provides practitioners with a single source of information on published road schemes. Going forward, all Boundary Plan (BP) and Prescribed Composite Map (PCM) plans and notices will be available online, reducing the need for paper distribution, and providing quicker and easier access to these public documents.

To view these plans and notices please visit the Road Schemes page.

It is with pleasure that we announce the promotion effective 1st July, 2010 of Ms. Anna Verrill to the post of GIS Officer.

Ms. Verrill has been with the department since 10th March, 2008 and previously was the Asst. GIS Officer. She will assume day-to-day management responsibilities of the GIS Production/Mapping Unit and report directly to the GIS Manager, Mr. Garry Green.

The Director and all Staff of the Lands & Survey Department congratulate Anna on a deserved promotion which is a result of excellent service over the last 2+ years.

Lands & Survey Facilities Manager Rich Sanfilippo was recently interviewed in a Cayman Islands Government Information Services video on earthquake awareness.

You can watch the video on the CIGovtInfoServices channel on YouTube.

The Lands & Survey Department is pleased to announce the appointment of Ms. Kristy Groves to the position of GIS Assistant (Trainee), effective April 1st 2010. In this capacity, Kristy will be trained in all aspects of the department’s work – specifically in the GIS (Geographical Information Systems) team.

Kristy is a Caymanian graduate of Cayman Prep & High School, and in the past worked as a GIS Technician with LIME in Grand Cayman. As befitting the department’s determination and ongoing commitment to develop a workable succession plan Kristy will be given every encouragement and opportunity to develop her career in the department working alongside a range of experienced GIS professionals. She will also receive sponsorship from the department in order to undertake a course of online tuition leading to a Bachelor’s degree in GIS.

The Director of Lands & Survey, Mr. Alan Jones, says “It is a great pleasure to welcome Kristy to the team. It has been a challenge in the past to encourage, develop and retain Caymanian young people within the GIS field. However, it is a discipline which offers good career prospects within a very interesting area of work. We have been able over the years to build a National GIS and GIS team that is the envy of the region. However, we view the nurturing of local expertise as being an essential part of the process of ongoing improvement and development. I congratulate Kristy on her successful application and wish her much success in her new role”.

The Registrar of Lands, Aliceann Kirchman is pleased to announce the publication of a fully comprehensive Land Registry Procedure Manual.  The document updates and re-documents longstanding procedure and addresses the vast majority of the transactions which are capable of land registration in the Cayman Islands. 

The manual is now available free of charge to download at

http://www.caymanlandinfo.ky/LinkClick.aspx?fileticket=EgAvCu9qQoY%3d&tabid=183

and will be available to purchase in hard copy in February 2010.  The manual will prove an invaluable resource for all those involved in land transactions, documenting both requirements that must be met for a transaction to be valid, and the consistent standards that will be followed by Land Registry staff in registering them. 

Speaking on the Manual, Mrs Kirchman said that “….it sets out practical guidance to both Land Registry staff and practitioners on how we operate, and is very much a living document which can be updated on a regular basis to reflect new directions and decisions.  I warmly welcome comments and suggestions from any interested person as to how it might be improved in the future, which can be sent to me directly."

For further information please contact the Lands & Survey Department on 244-3420 or registry.info@gov.ky. 
 

Effective 31 December 2009 Stamp Duty Rates have been altered on the following transaction documents;

• Power of Attorney
• Deed
• Collateral Charge / Mortgage
• Withdrawal of Charge / Mortgage
• Policy of Insurance
• Withdrawal of Caution

A summary of the new rates is available, and the Stamp Duty summary web pages have been updated.

The new rates are applicable for all relevant documents executed on or after 31 December 2009.

For further information please contact us.   

The Land Registry and Valuation & Estates Office, are pleased to announce the launch of an online tracking system for documents submitted for the payment of Stamp Duty and/or Land Registration.

The system, which is free to use and available through www.caymanlandinfo.ky, will give you the ability to

• track documents submitted as they progress through a multi-stage review process;
• identify any problems which may result in delay or rejection of registration;
• get an indication as to when registration will be complete.   

Commenting on this new initiative Registrar of Lands Aliceann Kirchman noted that “the introduction of online document tracking has been a long time coming, and is a significant step forward in improving customer service.  It should reduce the amount of time required to enquire on the progress of documents, in turn allowing Land Registry staff to increase their focus on the processing of documents.  Staff are of course still available to discuss problems in person or by phone if needed”.

Developed by the Computer Services Department and enabled online in conjunction with the Lands & Survey Department’s web development specialists, document tracking is available to anyone providing an email address upon submission of documents to the Department.  The system provides exactly the same information as is seen by us, providing a transparent and accurate view of progress.  The Department aims to register transactions that are compliant with the relevant laws, regulations and policies within 10 working days of receipt. 

Users will receive Tracking ID's for all documents submitted with immediate effect (providing an email address is submitted).  Details of how to interpret the tracking information can be found here:

http://www.caymanlandinfo.ky/Services/OnlineTools/DocumentTrackingInstructions/tabid/184/Default.aspx

We would welcome your feedback and suggestions on how to improve this service by emailing registry.info@gov.ky.  For technical support please contact Iain Franklin on 244-3653 or iain.franklin@gov.ky.  Registered subscribers may also raise a support ticket.