Your article could have been labelled “How green is my pork barrel?” There is no recession at city hall. After hiring four flacks at a quarter-million dollars, council gives the chief flack a $27,000 raise. That is a hike of $2,250 a month; $520 a week; $74 a day; $3 an hour. Get real.
Then the council porkers dip into the barrel for expenses: $9,000 for John Luton who, just to rub the taxpayers’ noses in it, flippantly says: “I’m the new guy. I’ve got more to learn.” I don’t think there is enough money to cover what he has to learn.
In 2008, Luton and his chums voted themselves a 50-per-cent pay hike to eliminate the one-third tax-free allowance for expenses. They pocket that $13,000 and still charge for expenses.
For this lot, the pork barrel is bottomless.
Patrick Murphy
Victoria