2023-10-21 02:00:00
She asked a colleague to bring her a sandwich. He grabs his cream dessert, quickly between two meetings. Catherine Mathelin, 57, is in her third term as mayor in Herbeumont, a small town of 1,650 inhabitants. Nicolas Martin, 47, is mayor of Mons, a city of nearly 100,000 inhabitants.
“I had to go see what I got, I didn’t knowsmiles Catherine Mathelin. €2,557 net per month. I also have a mandate in the intermunicipal company Idelux at €1,800 per year.” During her mayoral mandate, she does not give anything back to the Engagés, her party. On the other hand, she gives €100 for Idelux.
In his office, Nicolas Martin reveals what he earns: “ Remember that I am at €4,750 net, once I have paid back to the party.” The mayor PS is also a director of Idea (€60 net per month) and president of the Walloon Social Credit Society. “There, I have €800 net per month, when I returned to the PS. In total, that represents one mandate as a deputy.”
Workload
If Catherine Mathelin and Nicolas Martin do not earn the same thing, it is because their salaries vary depending on the number of inhabitants. “But you have the same responsibilities, tackles the mayor of Herbeumont. Plus here, if you want a file to come out, you have to do it yourself. I have already put toilet paper in schools because no one knew how to do it.”
In Mons, 1,300 people work for the city. Nicolas Martin recalls that “an effort was made around fifteen years ago to raise salaries in small municipalities . Quite a few aldermen in towns of 20,000 inhabitants earn more than a mayor of a town of 100,000 inhabitants because they have their role as alderman and keep their job. I don’t want anyone to say that I’m complaining regarding that. S If a mayor of a small municipality works full time for his municipality, does not have a job on the side, this should be revalued. Just as I It is not normal for a mayor of a large municipality to earn less than a parliamentarian when the workload is immeasurably higher.”
Responsibilities
So, well paid? “In terms of responsibilities, it’s not much, judges the Luxembourg mayor. Floods, an accident,… my liability may be engaged.”
“P For a citizen, it will always be too much. For a private sector boss, not enough, advances Nicolas Martin. This type of mandate generates expenses. You can rarely go somewhere without paying for a drink. But I earn a better living than many, it is wrong to complain.”
Catherine Mathelin kept her job in teaching, part-time. “To live properly – initially I earned €1,500. And to stay up to date in my job.”
But his position at the Commune takes him much more than part time. “We get carried away. All it takes is one meeting and you finish at 10 p.m..” And weekends are not spared. Meals, weddings, golden weddings. “I don’t have to, but that’s where you meet people.”
Nicolas Martin’s days are also busy. “I finish around 8 p.m. Afterwards I exercise, eat, take care of my dog. At 11 p.m., I go back to work until 2 a.m. Recently, he has been trying to grant himself “some Sundays”. “I’m starting to get saturated.”
Not for the money
If they go into politics, both assure, it is not for money. “You would have to be crazy, says Nicolas Martin. When you see the hours and the investment… in the private sector, I would earn a better living! It’s a calling. All my choices for political office have been to the detriment of my remuneration. In 2012, I refused to be a federal deputy at €5,500 to keep my local mandate at the Ambroise Paré University Hospital at €900 in order to complete the work started there. In 2018, I left the better-paid Walloon Parliament to focus on Mons. I had offers in the private sector that were much more attractive than my current salary.”
For Catherine Mathelin, “we should increase certain salaries of mayors and aldermen. But it is difficult because it must not be to the detriment of actions for citizens. However, it is paid by the Commune. And the finances are what they are…”
And at the higher levels? “All work deserves a salary. And I wouldn’t want to have the life of a minister. But we need controls and transparency.”
For Nicolas Martin, political office must remain attractive. “We have to face the complexity of the work before public opinion. We can pay ministers €3,000 but we have to know the burden that that represents. Today, you no longer have anyone who wants to get involved locally. People don’t want to be exposed to network vindictiveness, pressure, etc.”
Flat tires
When Nicolas Martin talks regarding attractiveness, he also talks regarding “change political morals. Advice until 4 a.m. is not good! Legal protection must also be strengthened. A deputy has insurance in the event of damage. I had problems following putting order in poorly managed non-profit organizations. Flat tires, bullet in the mailbox… and no insurance!”
But talking regarding political remuneration “do not pass. Citizens believe that politicians earn too much and are not effective, because they do not understand the complexity of the function. Projects will be completed in 2024. And we will say “it’s the elections, they’re getting off their butts”. However, to see the light of day in 2024, the budgets must have been decided in 2021.”
For Catherine Mathelin, if public opinion is so critical, it is because “abuses. There are scoundrels, there have been some, there will be more. And the citizen only sees that and not the 90% who work honestly.”
Nicolas Martin ended up publishing his pay slip in 2022, “because I was told that I earned €10,000 per month!” “It’s easy criticism, believes Catherine Mathelin. It’s the fantasy of the politician who cheats.”
If he hesitated, Nicolas Martin will be on the 2024 lists. “There are still things to do in Mons.” But he won’t do that “his whole life. I only have one desire on a personal level, which is to launch my activity in the private sector.” Catherine Mathelin is testing herself: “This is the first time in 18 years that I have asked myself questions. I no longer want to experience what I am experiencing now, it’s too much.”
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