“There’s no free ride here, you must earn every penny.” – Mayor Bernard Wagner
Bernard Wagner
According to Mayor Wagner, while Councilor Goodin has been unable to garner the support of four of his colleagues, the idea is that compensation should not be granted to anyone who is not performing his or her duties at City Hall, particularly since those monies are being paid from the public purse.
Bernard Wagner, Belize City Mayor
“I always believe that when you are elected, you serve your term, you serve it to the best of your ability and if you have any ambition for furthering your education in this case, or for whatever reasons you may have, it’s always best that you take into context the mandate given to you by the people because we serve the people. They are our bosses and at the end of the day you would have to go back at some point to have them hire you again. If your record of not serving close to eighteen months of the term that they granted, obviously they will have some reservation to give you that mandate in the future.”
Isani Cayetano
“Mr. Goodin’s scholarship has been awarded by the Government of Belize. I don’t know what the extent of the scholarship is, if it is a full scholarship which means that everything will be covered. But I understand that he’s also seeking, as part of his leave of absence, that his stipend or his salary as a councilor remains intact. How does this work?”
Bernard Wagner
“Well again, with any leave, you have leave with pay, you have leave without pay in many work environments. I believe the councilor was requesting leave with pay, but he also alluded that he wanted to be relieved of his portfolios which we more than likely could comply with. In terms of the leave with pay, the council would have to determine if that is the route we want to go. There’s no free ride here, you must earn every penny. That is the way Belizeans are. Belizeans are struggling each and every day out there to earn a living and how would it look for us as a council that we grant leave with pay…
Micah Goodin
Isani Cayetano
“Minus the portfolio assignments.”
Bernard Wagner
“ …without the portfolio. Again, that will be judged in the future.”
