By Roy Sanford, Staff ReporterWESTERN BUREAU:
THE ST. JAMES Parish Council and the National Solid Waste Management Authority/Western Parks and Market (NSWMA/WPM) seem to be heading for a confrontation over a proposal that the Council should pay $211 million that is budgeted for garbage collection in the four western parishes.
At the Council's monthly meeting last Thursday, secretary/manager Christopher Powell said that the money was requested in the budget outlined by the NSWMA for 2004-2005. The four parishes expected to fall under the arrangement are Hanover, Westmoreland, Trelawny and St. James.
CAPITAL EXPENDITURE
Mr. Powell said that the money was needed to cover expenses such as capital expenditure, compensation for employees and health and insurance coverage, among others.
However the proposal did not find favour with the councillors who greeted the announcement with scepticism. They questioned why the Council should be covering the authority's operations in other parishes.
"My concern is, why is it that St. James should be bearing the brunt of collecting garbage in other parishes?" said Richard Solomome, councillor for the Spring Garden division. "We should not support this idea."
When The Gleaner contacted Percival Stewart, NSWMA's regional manager, he said that Mr. Powell would be writing the authority to outline the Council's concerns. "I cannot comment before that," he said.
CONCERNS
In adding his voice to the issue, Councillor Noel Donaldson, the Mayor of Montego Bay, describe the proposal as 'outrageous.' "As far as I am concerned this council ought to take a position that the Council has direct responsibility for the operation of garbage collection in St. James," he stated.
Councillor Leeroy Williams, of the Montego Bay North Division, expressed similar sentiments.
"I personally feel that the St. James Parish Council is collecting enough money from property taxes to make us financially sound. We should take responsibility for the collection of our own garbage," Williams said.
However Councillor Gerard Mitchell, of the Mount Salem Division, proposed that a meeting be held with NSWMA before the Council takes any decision. This was agreed upon and Mr. Powell was given the responsibility to contact the NSWMA stating the Council's concerns.
