PORT MARIA, St Mary — Members of the St Mary Municipal Corporation have expressed strong disappointment with the Jamaica Public Service (JPS) over what they described as a continued failure to address faulty street lights across the parish. The concerns were raised, across party lines, during Tuesday’s sitting of the council’s Infrastructure and Traffic Committee meeting.

Councillor Everton Garvey (People’s National Party, Islington Division) said a year after he reported two non-functioning street lights near the Islington police station, the JPS has taken no discernible action. He noted that both police officers and residents are concerned.

“JPS can expect a strongly written letter from the Islington police,” Garvey said.

Councillor Daedre Moulton (Jamaica Labour Party, Retreat Division) said the lack of street lights has left elderly residents vulnerable to criminals. She said both she and individuals who live in the division have reported outages for a year with no resolution.

“I don’t mean to be disrespectful or anything but when we share the information in this group, to me it just doesn’t go anywhere,” she said.

She recounted an incident in which a resident’s 84 year-old mother was robbed in the dark that resulted from a non-functioning street light. Moulton added that she has submitted reports about non-functional lights in Balmoral Heights more than three times.

“I am being bombarded by calls asking, ‘Why am I paying taxes when I can’t get a street light?’ They are looking at us and if I can’t get a street light it doesn’t make any sense and then next month we are back at square one!” she fumed.

Councillor Doreen Hutchinson (JLP, Carron Hall Division) said her area appeared shrouded in darkness.

“It cannot be that all the things are diverted to those areas,” she said, referring to parishes where the JPS was doing repair work after they severely hit by last October’s Hurricane Melissa.

“Because each one of us paid our bills and the parish council paid the street lights and it cannot be that there is no repair to street lights!” Hutchinson insisted.

Councillor Mitsy Hudson-Hicks (JLP, Hampstead Division) said the issue is raised monthly without being fixed.

“It’s very unfortunate that when we have these issues, that every month when we have a meeting it is noted. It might be a different area but it is the same issue and nothing is resolved,” she said.

Hudson-Hicks added that street lights in her division were taken down after the passage of Hurricane Beryl in 2024 and have not been replaced.

“They [JPS] don’t care; I have been here for 10 years and there are street lights that I have been complaining about for five years. Some don’t get repaired, some are taken down and nothing is done. It is distasteful. It is not for my personal benefit, it is the benefit of the people I serve,” she said.

Mayor of Port Maria and chairman of the St Mary municipal corporation Fitzroy Wilson criticised the utility company and referenced the $150-million loan the Government had provided towards funding its hurricane repair efforts.

“Why is it that the resources that are supposed to be for St Mary are being channelled to other parts of the island? Is it that we have given up on the rest of the island and can’t produce? Why mash down here so too?” Wilson questioned.

He bemoaned the relocation of the JPS customer service office to St Ann calling it inconvenient and disrespectful to customers. The mayor also maintained that a streetlight at Huddersfield main road in the vicinity of Rio Nuevo Heights was removed by JPS contractors after a traffic accident and has not been replaced. He also pointed out that the entrance to Rio Nuevo Phase Two, where a murder occurred, has no street light and only needs a new bulb.

“I stand corrected but I don’t think any street lights have been repaired in the parish since the start of the year. I have been signing [cheques] for $9 million or $10 million for street lights,” Wilson said.

He commended workers from the Youth Summer Employment Programme for gathering street lighting information. This, he said, should make it easier for JPS to know the areas that are in need of repair.

The mayor warned JPS that both elected representatives and residents are nearing the brink of how much they can bear.