Confusion over the difference between a ‘salary’ and an ‘attendance fee’ has put City of Canning mayor Paul Ng in the hot seat this week, forcing him to explain why a promised 50 per cent ‘salary’ cut hasn’t been applied to all the money he receives.
During the October mayoral election Mr Ng stated in his nomination blurb he would ‘initiate the momentum to cut expenses by taking a 50 per cent salary cut’.
The blurb was posted to every elector with voting papers during a local government election.
After winning the election he cut his $46,350 annual attendance fee to $23,175 but did not touch his local government annual allowance fee of $87,550. This meant the city was currently paying Mr Ng $110,725 plus IT allowances.
If Mr Ng were to cut his local government annual allowance he would receive $66,950.
Despite his nomination blurb promise to cut his ‘salary’ by 50 per cent, in media before the election Mr Ng was quoted as saying he would cut his ‘sitting fee’ by 50 per cent.
Last week The Examiner asked when would his ‘mayoral wage be cut by 50 per cent’.
Mr Ng said ‘as per my promise, I have elected to receive only 50 per cent of the mayoral attendance fee’ but did not clarify he did not cut his local government allowance fee.
Mr Ng defended his actions and said he used ‘salary’ in his election material because he believed attendance fee and sitting fee was confusing for some voters. “Before I became mayor, I fully intended to cut by 50 per cent my attendance fee, which I referred to in the election campaign material as ‘salary’ for common understanding,” he said.
“I believe it is confusing to some voters as to what attendance fee or sitting fee refers to.
“To fulfil my election promise, my immediate priority when I got into the office of mayor was to take the cut of 50 per cent of that fee.”
He said the local government annual allowance was necessary to cover the day-to-day expenses of being a mayor in a large city like Canning.
He said he was the only mayor who had taken a reduction in attendance fee.
“I decided to take only half of the attendance fee to set the tone for restraint on spending,” he said.
Mr Ng was highly critical of the city’s spending during the mayoral election campaign, promising to stop wastage and inefficiencies.
