Town Clerk’s Yonette Pluck-Cort’s salary and benefits came under the microscope of yesterday’s statutory meeting of the Mayor and City Council (M&CC), with Councillor Junior Garrett requesting full disclosure.
Garrett noted that Pluck-Cort recently applied for leave and as a result he was curious to know what allowance she would be receiving as well as other benefits. “What scale is Mrs Pluck-Cort being paid at? Who authorised the scale? …I need to see that person,” Garrett stated, while requesting disclosure from City Treasurer Andrew Meredith.
Mayor Hamilton Green agreed that that issue was serious, but said it should not be addressed at such a forum. “We don’t have time to deal with this matter… it needs the appropriate time and appropriate forum,” he declared.
Councillor Kamla Devi Ross, while noting that she “does not see the big secret,” asked why the issue was only now being addressed. “She was enjoying these benefits since before her appointment all these years. Why question it now?”
The Mayor then asked for an excuse and left, prompting Councillor Patricia Chase-Green to question why he held the post if he could not sit at the meeting.
In chairing the meeting there on, Chase-Green said that with Pluck-Cort enjoying some benefits while acting as Town Clerk, councillors should not be debarred from inquiring about her salary and further prompted Meredith to disclose the details. Pluck-Cort eventually left the meeting.
As the forum continued, it was intermittently disrupted as some councillors complained of not being in possession of an agenda. Garrett asked that the discussion continue at a later time when better arrangements could be made and councillors can all make a meaningful contribution. But this request was denied as Chase-Green proceeded to read from her agenda.
