Mayor of Hamilton Lawson Mapp has said it is high time that the rules governing the city Corporation are updated in order to make it more open and accountable to the public.

He has called for members to be paid in order to make the job more attractive, and for at least some Corporation meetings to be held in public. Currently, the Corporation meets behind closed doors, and is believed to be the only jurisdiction left in the Western world where this is the case.

When Mr. Mapp was returned to office with a landslide 87 per cent of the vote in October 2003, he pledged to meet with the Premier ?as soon as possible? to call for legislative reforms for the Corporation which is currently governed by the Municipalities Act 1923.

In an interview with this week, he admitted that this matter had been overlooked in favour of more pressing issues ? but said it was still important to address it in future.

?We have had so many things on the front burner that we have put this on the back burner a little bit,? he said. ?We said we would make more information available to the general public.

?Since the inception of the Corporation the meetings have been held in private, and I think we have to be seen to be a little more open to the public.?

Mr. Mapp said that the idea of meetings being held in public was complicated by the fact that under the 1923 Act, members do not have the privileges barring them for being sued for libel which are enjoyed by House of Assembly members.

?The Municipalities Act should be reviewed and maybe the Government should look at updating it,? he said. ?I discussed this some time ago with the Premier and said that when Government doesn?t have much on the order papers then maybe the Act could be looked at.?

He said that it is his own personal view that Corporation members should be paid, especially since their workload has increased since he was first elected as a councillor in 1979.

?We serve without any remuneration. The perception is that we are remunerated and it?s really unfair,? he said. ?I have the strong feeling that if we were remunerated for the time we spend, it would encourage more young Bermudians to get involved in how the city is run.

?In this day and age, with the amount that the City makes, they can afford to give the Corporation members a little money.?

In the meantime, Mr. Mapp said that some steps towards greater openness are already being planned, such as giving updates on Corporation projects through flyers that will be included with tax bills.

And he plans for a public town hall meeting to be held before the end of winter to discuss important issues such as the planned pedestrianisation of lower Reid Street, and allowing giant Panamax cruise ships to visit the city.

?These plans should provide a measure of comfort ? they are a toe in the door,? he said.

The corporation has five councillors and three Aldermen as well as the Mayor. Committees and responsibilities include finance, parks, streets and property. Buildings owned by the Corporation include City Hall, Hamilton Docks, the cruise ship passenger terminals and the ferry terminal.