What Does a Mayor in Singapore Do and How Much are they paid ?

Traditionally, mayors oversee a city's main departments, including the police, fire, education, housing and transportation departments. At the same time, their responsibilities vary depending on the local power structure, lets take 2 examples of global cities like New York City and London which we frequently benchmark against.

Mayor of New York: Mr Bill de Blasio  (8.5 million Popuation)

Roles and Responsibilities: The mayor of New York City is head of the executive branch of New York City's government. The mayor's office administers all city services, public property, police and fire protection, most public agencies, and enforces all city and state laws within New York City of a population of approximately 8.5 million people across 5 boroughs (Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, the Bronx, and Staten Island) 

Mayor of London: Boris Johnson (8.6 million population) 

Roles and Responsibilities: The Mayor of London's role is the executive of the strategic authority for London is to promote economic development and wealth creation, social development, and the improvement of the environment. The Mayor also has many other duties in relation to culture and tourism, including responsibility for Trafalgar Square and Parliament Square and planning and housing for its population of 8.6 million people.

Mayors of Singapore: 5.4 million population 

For a population of 5.4million people, we have not 1... not 2... not 3 ... But 5 Mayors in Singapore

1. Central District Denise Phua
2. North East District                 Teo Ser Luck
3. North West District                Teo Ho Pin
4. South East District                 Mohamad Maliki Osman
5. South West District                Low Yen Ling

Roles and Responsibilities: Unlike Mayors of Cities across the world which serves as local Government, the job of a Mayor in Singapore is not as a 'local government' but rather a much smaller community function to assist the needs of local residents. CDC's mission as stated on their website is to build a caring and cohesive community, where we assist the needy, bond the people and connect the community through the 5 CDC (COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT COUNCIL) which are under the PA (People's Association), a Government Statutory Board under Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth (MCCY)

Salary of Mayors in Major Cities

Mayor of London: Boris Johnson (8.6 million population)  

£143,911 = S$ 312,888 (@ S$2.17 to 1 British Pounds)

Mayor of New York: Mr Bill de Blasio  (8.5 million Population)

USD225,000 = S$313,605 (@ S$1.39 to 1 USD)

Mayors of Singapore: 5.4 million population / 5  = (0.9 million Population)

Minimum Salary of Mayor S$660,000.00 + Allowance as MP S$$192,500.00 = S$852,500.00

In Addition, 3 of the mayors are concurrently holding additional positions in the ministries

1. Teo Ser Luck is also Minister of State under Ministry of Trade and Industry
2. Mohamad Maliki Osman is also a Minister of State under Ministry of National Development
3. Low Yen Ling is also a Parliamentary Secretary under Ministry of Social and Family Development

Which could meant that they draw an additional of $770,000 (Minister of State) to S$418,000 (Parliamentary Secretary)

Which could effectively means that Mr Teo Ser Luck earns a minimum of $1,622,500 or a monthly salary of S$135,208. 33

• +   Mayor S$660,000.00
• +   Allowance as MP S$192,500.00
• +   Minister of State S$770,000 
• =   $1,622,500 or a minimum monthly salary of S$135,208. 33

Mr Liew Lian Bao Jia  

3 Key Questions for All of Us ?

1. With MPs, Town Councils, President's Challenge, Charity and many Volunteer Organizations in Singapore - Do we really need 5 Mayors since all 5 mayors are already doing similar duties as MP?
2. As MPs and Mayors with overlapping roles, are we paying double for the same services rendered by them?
3. Is there such an acute dearth of talent in our government or is Mr Teo Ser Luck a Superman that he can manage 3 portfolios as MP, Mayor and Minister of State ? 

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