I have resigned.
Believe it or not, being the Mayor of Hanwell is not a full time career. There are lots of hours spent in lots of meetings and there is a $15,000 salary but like most people in municipal politics, I need a day job. Recently, that day job became the topic of conversation by Council.
Hanwell has a bylaw governing such things as Mayor and Council’s remuneration and attendance. Knowing that, I wrote to Council last month seeking permission to be absent from 4 regular Council meetings. I needed that permission because my day job had me out of town. Council has the discretion to excuse a Mayor’s absence for any reason but in my case they refused. They felt that my needing to be at my day job was not a valid reason to be absent. Further more, projecting my attendance to the end of the year, Council wants to penalize me by having to pay back approximately $5 - 6,000 of my salary.
Its important to note that attending a regular Council meeting is actually the least burdensome activity for a Mayor. Being Mayor means sitting on multiple committees of the municipality; it means sitting on the Board of the RSC11 and two sub committees; it means attending countless activities - everything from community breakfasts to ceremonial duties; it means responding to emails and phone calls at all hours. All of those activities are extremely important and are very rewarding. Unfortunately, according to a strict interpretation of the remuneration bylaw, they are irrelevant when it comes to measuring the performance of a Mayor.
The remuneration bylaw suggests that the only measure of performance for a Mayor is simply showing up at a meeting 12 times a year. At least that is what someone would conclude pursuant to a strict interpretation of the bylaw.
The bylaw does not clearly define the period of time in which to measure attendance. A broad interpretation could be for a 4 year term. A strict interpretation would have it narrowed to one year. Council opted for 1.
When faced with this decision, instead of stepping back to see if the wording of the bylaw was even reasonable, council opted for a strict interpretation. Again, that means me being penalized by approx $5 - 6,000.
This issue has raised a potential confrontation between Mayor, staff and Council. Such confrontation is unhealthy especially for the community. We need to focus on other matters - the upcoming budget season and the opening of the community and municipal building in the spring just to name a couple.
Because of the position I’m now faced, I have opted to resign. A few minutes ago, I offered my letter of resignation to the Clerk. This was a very tough decision but I feel it’s best for all involved. This incident will be a short term distraction but it will pass and Hanwell will move on under a very capable Deputy Mayor.
It has been a pleasure to serve Hanwell in various capacities since 2012. It meant a lot to me and my family.
No comments:
Post a Comment