Trelawny Parish Council to Receive $29 Million for Infrastructure Work

The Trelawny Parish Council is to receive $29 million from the Equalization Fund to undertake infrastructural work throughout the parish.

This was disclosed by Minister of Local Government and Community Development, the Hon. Desmond McKenzie, as he addressed a special meeting of the Parish Council in Falmouth on July 14.

He said the funds will be provided to deal with submissions made by the Council, relating to beautification, road maintenance, drain cleaning and garbage disposal.

“This is about the needs of the Parish Council and service delivery to the people of Trelawny,” Minister McKenzie said.

Meanwhile, the Local Government Minister informed that all Parish Councils will be equipped with public address systems.

Mr. McKenzie said the aim is to ensure that the Councils have a more effective means of communicating, especially during deliberations and special sittings.

“We will start right here in Trelawny with this commitment. I think it is important that the Council operates in a manner that speaks of a parish that may be small in terms of its economic base, but is very important in terms of its economic value. This is a parish that is rich in culture and one that contributes much by way of its tourism offerings,” he stated.

The Minister also urged the Trelawny Parish Council to increase its efforts in collecting outstanding municipality fees.

“There is a lot of money going uncollected and which the Parish Council will have to do a better job of collecting. This is not an indictment on anybody. It’s a matter of better enforcement and we will also be assisting in this regard,” Mr. McKenzie said.

The Equalization Fund was created in 1997 and is financed by 10 percent of the money collected island wide from property taxes. All 13 Parish Councils are allocated a percentage of the fund to carry out critical infrastructural work in their various divisions.