Cut mayor's pay when Wells goes to PUB: councillor

If Andy Wells plans to stay on as mayor while accepting a new full-time job, he should take a pay cut at city hall, a councillor says.

Wells has drawn flack from residents and some councillors for deciding to work at two jobs that he acknowledges have full-time responsibilities. Wells starts March 1 as the chair of Newfoundland and Labrador's Public Utilities Board.

Wells decided this week to stay on as mayor until at least September, on grounds that a byelection would be too expensive for city taxpayers.

But Coun. Gerry Colbert said it's impossible for one person to devote himself full time to two major organizations.

"I believe that now … it has really become a part-time job for him," Colbert told CBC News.

Colbert told CBC News that he wants council to debate reducing Mayor Wells's salary to reflect a part-time commitment.
 
"He now has a full-time executive position with the Public Utilities Board [so] his salary here at city hall should reflect the fact that it is not a full-time position for him," said Colbert, who has often clashed with Wells at council meetings.

Coun. Art Puddister said while he has not yet decided whether to support Colbert's idea, he agrees it's impossible for Wells to do both jobs completely.

"For him to say, 'I can work full time here at the City of St. John's and work full time at the PUB … I don't think he's fooling too many people," he said.

"You can't work 16 hours a day, five days a week. It's just not possible."

Wells, though, says he can juggle his schedule to accommodate the demands of both jobs. He told CBC News Thursday that he told Premier Danny Williams he may stay on as mayor while serving at the PUB, and noted that there is nothing in provincial law that forbids a public servant from holding municipal office.

Coun. Tom Hann, though, said that no matter what Wells's salary is, it will still be much less than the cost of a byelection.

Wells said Thursday a byelection — which, under the City of St. John's Act, would be necessary if the mayor resigns more than 12 months before a scheduled election — would cost more than $400,000. 

Colbert plans to make the motion at the March 4 council meeting, after Wells starts his full-time appointment at the PUB.