Dear Editor,

A mayor is a mayor is a mayor, and a councillor is a councillor is a councillor.

They perform the same functions in each municipality. It makes no difference where they are. Their job is to represent those of us who elected them to represent us, at any and all events or meetings relevant to that representation, and they receive compensation for doing their job.

Most receive salaries in the area of five to six figures, and yet they expect expenses to travel to and from the events that are part of their job, and they also receive an "incentive" payment to attend council and Metro board meetings.

If I was getting paid $700 to spend half a day at an event or function, I'd be there, too! Attending the meetings is part of the job, not an option.

We need is a generic job description that identifies the duties to be performed, and then we could determine a salary representative of the work that they actually do.

In any other job description, if they were not clearly defined, some of these meetings and activities would be listed under "performs other related duties as required/assigned." That would capture the meetings and any other functions that they may have to attend, as a mandatory part of their job.

D. Atkinson, Langley