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Full salaries reinstated for Belize City Council employees

HeadlineFull salaries reinstated for Belize City Council employees

BELIZE CITY, Thurs. July 16, 2020– This week’s payday was a notable one for Belize City Council employees, as they all received a full salary after three months of collecting a reduced salary due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the council’s revenue stream.

At the start of the government-instituted State of Emergency, with the exception of the council’s Sanitation Department, which worked throughout that period, all employees were asked to accept a 50 percent salary reduction. That salary reduction was also applied to the Deputy Mayor and City Councilors, while Mayor Bernard Wagner had forgone his entire salary in light of the circumstances.

During a period that was usually considered high season, Mayor Wagner told the media in late April that the Council was only collecting approximately 28 percent of its normal revenue.

The council’s financial position gradually improved to a point where employees eventually were collecting 75 percent of their salary.

In a June interview, Mayor Wagner shared that July 15 would indeed be the date on which all City Council employees would resume receiving their full salaries. Throughout this process, the council has maintained that terminating employees would be the last resort, and this shared- sacrifice approach was developed to avoid just that.

Three months later, and the council has not terminated any employees due to the severe impact of this pandemic.

About the decision to reinstate full pay, Mayor Bernard Wagner said, “Most of our decision-making was based on collecting data. After a few months of really assessing and getting a feel of the revenue inflows, we now feel strongly that we could reinstate full pay for everyone.”

Mayor Wagner went on to express his appreciation for his team for their cooperation.

“I feel contented that our staff, even in the midst of the pandemic and its challenges, were still able to appreciate the direction I wanted to take the Council. We could not just think of the months of April and May. We had to think long-term,” said Mayor Wagner.

In addition to being back on full salary, Belize City Council employees will also receive the first installment of their deferred salaries on the next pay day, July 30.

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