What Finance committee chair Mark Pelletier calls a "glitch" has been discovered concerning how Rhinelander pays its mayor.
The part-time mayor gets paid $1,000 a month, plus travel expenses when he or she is representing the city, plus per diem for committee meetings attended, same as council members. While the mayor doesn't vote during committee meetings, he or she gathers in the information. The mayor is often the point person with the public.
But Pelletier says one very important meeting has been left off....
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"....when it comes to (city) council meeting that he oversees and runs, he doesn't get paid for those meetings. Every alderman that is there gets paid, and he receives nothing for it.,,,,"
The mayor is the person responsible for conducting the monthly meeting, where a majority of city business is decided.
Pelletier thinks the glitch in city rules could go back as far as 40 years.
Even in tight economic times, Pelletier says this needs to be addressed...
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"....there's a glitch in the system that needs to be fixed. We're looking at maybe a thousand dollars a year that I think he's more than entitled to...."
The matter is likely to be discussed next month with a final decision around budget time in November.
