And yesterday the PM conceded that he endorsed the contract for a fellow PUP candidate. So we asked the mayor if this is the prime reason why they accepted it since, who can really say no to the PM? He said it was ultimately the council's call.
Bernard Wagner, Mayor of Belize City
"We look at any recommendation that comes. Everyday we get recommendations but at the end of the day it's the decision of the council, we are a duly elected body that is put in place to really govern the city and so while we always give sort of reliance on recommendation, at the end of the day, it is the council that really makes that decision."
Reporter:
"Did the council caucus object to his proposal because that is the report that we had that they did."
Bernard Wagner, Mayor of Belize City
"You will see the minutes, we publish all our minutes and you will see all the discussion, the discourse within the context of this proposal."
We note that the 5 year contract exceeds the life of this council which ends in 18 months - so it binds the council which will succeed it - a practice the same mayor criticized when he was elected in 2018 and had to deal with the four year contract for ousted City Manager Candice Miller.
