Bullet News GODERICH – This year’s warden doesn’t like the idea of paying a salary to the head of Huron County’s council.
Bernie MacLellan said the current system that pays him according to the hours logged doing county business gives him the opportunity to see where his time is spent. For example, he discovered that a chunk of time is spent discussing legal matters with the county’s solicitor every two to three days.
“I like the system I have right now,” he said. Every month, the warden submits an expense record for inclusion in the Committee of the Whole agenda, and it’s available for public review. It lists the events attended and whether he logged a full or half day for his time.
As well, he said the current system provides him the flexibility to book off personal time at his leisure.
“I don’t feel guilty. I’m not getting paid by the county,” he said.
The county administration is preparing a report on the warden’s remuneration after discussion by councillors at a strategic planning session recently. At the April 20 session, Coun. George Robertson, who is mayor of South Huron, said a move to a salaried position would avoid the task of tracking time.
He threw out a figure of $60,000 plus honorarium – in 2012, the honorarium is budgeted at $11,500 – for the job of warden, who is elected from fellow councillors to serve as head of council for a one-year term.
At that time, MacLellan, declared a direct pecuniary interest, which means he could stand to make money from the outcome of the talks. However, he said he has since consulted a lawyer and since the discussions won’t affect the warden’s pay this year, he can participate.
