Honorarium not ‘justified or ethical’

Kensington town councillors are ‘doing away’ with additional honorariums for serving on the town’s Water and Sewer Corporation. During a town council meeting this week, Mayor Rowan Caseley asked councillors to consider removing the honorarium they receive as members of the board of directors.

KENSINGTON – Town councillors here are ‘doing away’ with additional honorariums for serving on the town’s Water and Sewer Corporation.

During a town council meeting this week, Mayor Rowan Caseley asked councillors to consider removing the honorarium they receive as members of the board of directors.

“We’re given $50 for every meeting we attend. In 2018, we met for a total of 84 minutes. The shortest lasted three minutes and the longest was 12 minutes for an average about seven minutes,” said Caseley.

“That $600 a year [we receive] isn’t right. I don’t believe it’s justified or ethical. Do I need to get paid $600 per year for 84 minutes?”

With that said, Caseley asked for the councillors to discuss the topic. Coun. Wade Toombs took it a step further making a motion to “do away with the honorarium.”

Coun. Adrien Bernard questioned the motion, asking if the honorarium was gone, would that mean the councillors were underpaid?

Caseley, and Toombs, both said that the mayor and council didn’t take their positions for the money.

Councillors Toombs, Jeff Spencer, Ivan Gallant and Rodney Mann supported the motion. Bernard voted against it. Bernard said following the meeting that she opposed the motion because she wanted more information about the history of how the honorarium formed and in which direction the corporation would being going for a “clearer picture.”

Getting rid of $600/councillor honorarium will save the town about $4,200 in the 2019/2020 budget.