Chaguanas mayor Orlando Nagessar says the 136 councillors within the corporations of T&T deserve a monthly salary between $8,000 and $10,000 for what he says is a "full-time job." "We are asking that mayors and chairmen be promoted to the range of a permanent secretary and that councillors be in the bracket of between $8,000 and $10,000 a month with the perks of office, equipment and staff," he said.
He said so at yesterday's training and consultation session held for the North and Central members of the councils (city and regional corporations).
It was held at the Port-of-Spain City Corporation. Local Government Minister Chandresh Sharma was expected to inaugurate the training session. Highlighting the issue of remuneration as one of the key points of discussion at the training and consultation session, Nagessar reflected on the small salaries earned by the members of the council and in particular, that of a councillor, who earned a mere $2,500 a month.
"We are down to the bottom. We are worse off than the PSA members," he said. "Councillors are worse off...a councillor's work is full time...the needs of the people are so much and the resources are limited.
"For the last ten years, councillors have not been given a raise...they got a $25 and a $50 increase in cellular phones and travelling, nothing added to their stipend." He pleaded with the council's parliamentary representative and Sharma to lobby assiduously on their behalf and indicated that negotiations with the Salaries Review Commission (SRC) were currently on the table.
"We have submitted a memorandum with the SRC and we are hoping that they will treat us with a bit of dignity," he added. Nagessar said while the training stood to benefit members of the council, there were those who saw it as a waste of time and absented themselves accordingly. "We were elected to serve the people but how can you do this when you are unaware of the services you are to extend," he said.
Nagessar alluded to aspects of the training he saw as being beneficial, citing particularly the issue of sensitising the council members on those available government grants (social welfare grants) and "services" which can assist their respective burgesses by informing them clearly of how they can be accessed. In lauding those corporations represented at the session, Nagessar indicated that a similar training and consultation session would be conducted for the South members of the council on February 11.