Perth Mayor John Fenik has a reason to smile, an unusual one at that.
The mayor expressed no qualms about asking for a raise in a meeting with council that took place on the 14th of September.
At a Committee of the Whole meeting regarding council expense accounts and remuneration, councilors unanimously agreed that the town’s mayor should have an increase of honorarium of $24,000, $6,000 higher from the $18,000 the mayor has received for the past 4 years. After a lengthy discussion, council also agreed that Perth’s deputy mayor should also receive an increase of $14,000 from $12,000. Councilors themselves can also expect to receive $13,000, $2,400 higher from the current $10,560.
The meeting was held to go over expense accounts before the municipal elections on the 25th of October. While some members have expressed reluctance in introducing large increases, they were eventually convinced that the Mayor and other local government officials were underpaid for quite some time.
Deputy Mayor John Gemmell also commented that the mayor deserves a raise for all his hard work. He points out that Fenik is on the job from morning to afternoon, even during the late hours.
