storage and wharfage charges and bills for private jets which land in Bermuda outside normal working hours was approved by the Senate yesterday.

Senators okayed the Bermuda Hospitals Board (Hospital Fees) Amendment Regulations 1999, Hamilton Goods Wharfage and Storage Charges Amendment Ordinance 1999, Hamilton Port Dues Amendment Ordinance 1999, Customs Department Amendment Act 1999 and the sale of leases of 54 homes in Southside, St. David's by the Bermuda Land Development Company.

The pair of ordinances will see certain port fees paid to the Corporation of Hamilton increased by up to 100 percent in some cases -- the first increase in some 20 years.

These increases are intended to help the Corporation -- which has already approved the ordinances internally -- fund a new sewage treatment plant for the city.

Storage rents at the docks have been increased as have registration fees for vessels docking in Hamilton. The increases are set to generate an additional $533,000 per year for the Corporation.

But they drew a tongue-lashing from Opposition Senator Maxwell Burgess who noted that the higher costs would be picked up by the Island's consumers.

While the increases did not look bad when spread over the 20-year-period since they were last raised, he continued, it was "unacceptable'' for the Corporation to raise their prices once every 20 years in a move which forced the consumer to absorb the costs.

Sen. Burgess noted that the increases were approved by the Corporation in December of last year, which was under the watch of the new Government.

Therefore, he argued, the PLP Government was the one hoisting the bigger costs on the unsuspecting public instead of forcing the Corporation to make the increases more gradual.

Sen. Burgess also criticised the plans to increase the charges all vessels docking in Hamilton would have to pay because this meant cruise ships, the one healthy sector of the Island's tourism economy, was going to be hit as well.

But Government Senate Leader Milton Scott quickly pointed out that the vast majority of the 20 years the Corporation of Hamilton spent sitting on the dock costs fell under the former United Bermuda Party government's watch.

Why did they not encourage the Corporation to come forward and deal with their necessary increases on an ongoing basis, he asked.

The UBP's failure to act on the matter had forced the PLP to play catch up because it recognised the importance of improving the inadequate sewage pumping system in the city, continued Sen. Scott.

He noted that the new sewage system for the city would also treat the sewage before pumping it out into the ocean, something the old Government did not want to do.

Also okayed yesterday was the sale of leases for 54 homes in Southside by the BLDC.

This move provoked the ire of Sen. Burgess who noted that some 200 people had applied to buy the 100 Southside homes the former Government had planned to introduce to the real estate market.

This would have left one in every two potential home buyers disappointed, he pointed out.

Now the number of homes had been slashed to 54, he continued, so there were going to be even more people who had their hopes of owning a home dashed.

But Independent Senator Walwyn Hughes , a member of the BLDC's board, stressed that the 54 homes were just the first in a series of units that were going to be released to the public over time.

He pointed out that an additional 24 homes were set to be sold to the Bermuda Housing Corporation.

The funds raised by the selling of these homes will help finance BLDC's operations, thus relieving its reliance on Government support, said Sen.

Hughes.

Sen. Scott added that the promise of 100 homes for the public was a UBP promise and that had gone out the door with that party's defeat at the polls on November 9.

Meanwhile, new Customs legislation approved by the Senate give private aircraft landing and taking off in Bermuda more flexibility in scheduling -- as long as the owners pay for the service.

This meant the public would not have to pick up the cost of the extra Customs service, noted Government Senator Patrice Parris, who added that the fees of between $35 and $50 for the Customs clearance would not have to be paid by military jets, Government and Crown aircraft or planes forced to make an emergency landing.

And the hospitals board legislation will see a four percent increase in some fees charged by the hospital as allowed by agreed regulations.

This increase is influenced by the need of the board to raise funds for capital expenditures including dealing with the Y2K computer bug, revamping its fire alarm system and funding the installation of a new hyperbaric chamber.

Government Senator Calvin Smith noted that the four percent increase would generate an extra $500,000 for the hospital board.

Further Senate coverage: Page 8