Mayors agreement on Telethon funds

An agreement has been reached between Mayor of Portmore Keith Hinds and former Mayor George Lee, over the missing funds from a telethon, which was held in the municipality in 2004.



The agreement was reached following the intervention of the Member of Parliament for South St. Catherine, Fitz Jackson.



Under the agreement, the parties have pledged to cease all public allegations on the subject pending the completion of an audit being done by the local government division of the office of the Prime Minister.



Mr. Jackson said the parties have also agreed to submit all concerns to a two-person mediation team, which will be chaired by Principal of the Portmore Community College, Karen Kennedy with support from an auditing specialist.



According to Mr. Jackson, if mediation fails to resolve the matter to the satisfaction of the parties, they reserve the right to further pursue the matter through the courts.



On Monday, the Portmore Municipal Support Committee said it would be suing the council to recover half a million dollars.



The group said the money represents a significant portion of donations raised through the telethon over three years ago.