ST JAMES, Jamaica (JIS) — Mayor of Falmouth, Colin Gager, says the Trelawny Municipal Corporation must be commended for Trelawny being the only parish other than Kingston and St Andrew to reach and surpass the property tax target for the 2017/2018 financial year.

The mayor, who was speaking at the official opening of the Clark’s Town Transportation Centre in Trelawny on April 6, said the municipality collected some $340.7 million, which was $19.3 million more than the target of $321.4 million.

“What is even more exciting and commendable is that the Jackson Town Tax Office by which Clarks Town is served, collected 19 per cent more than its targeted amount,” he noted.

“Trelawny continues to be a leader in local government, and I want to say a special thank you to the management and staff for the hard work and dedication they have shown in ensuring that our finely tuned machine continues to operate at peak efficiency,” he said.

Turning to developments in Falmouth, Gager said the parish capital “is poised to reclaim her economic and social importance and is positioned to become the tourism Mecca of the region”.

He noted that the town of Falmouth and the parish of Trelawny have always played a pivotal role in nation-building and are major catalysts for the stimulation of growth for sustainable development.

“The economic impact and contribution of this parish is rightly recorded in history as it was the royal parish when sugar was ‘King’ and the wealthiest town and parish during that period. Falmouth boasted in excess of 12 sugar factories and was the leading exporter of sugar, rum and molasses,” he pointed out.

The mayor said it should also be noted that Falmouth is emerging as a major force in tourism, pointing to the cruise-ship pier as “the biggest of its kind in the Caribbean and one of “the leading cruise-shipping ports in the world”.

“It is the home of the world’s largest cruise-shipping vessels and has been repeatedly voted as the favourite destination port by passengers and crew members,” he said further.

He pointed out that the parish has also produced stalwart leaders, who have not only contributed nationally but are making an impact internationally.

“These are individuals such as Rex Nettleford, William Knibb, Hugh Lawson Shearer, Usain Bolt, Ky-Mani Marley, Anita Belnavis and the former world’s oldest living person, Violet Mosse-Brown,” he said.