By GEORGIA WESTGARTH
IN THE first year Mick Morland was Mayor of Casey he had three meals at home with his family and has made sure his successor Cr Sam Aziz puts work-life balance at the forefront of his term as mayor.
“When you’re the mayor, the community always comes first, before your family,” Cr Morland said.
“Being mayor is a commitment your family takes on as well because if there’s a council function and a family barbecue on the same day my job as mayor would always come first.
“They don’t want Mick Morland they want the Mayor of Casey and if you got the job, you do the job despite your grandchild’s first birthday.”
After reminiscing on his two terms as mayor, Cr Morland said he wouldn’t rule out going for the top spot again.
“It’s a great honour for any one individual because you’re the city’s number one citizen and you have the opportunity to make people feel special,” he said.
“But my advice to current mayor Cr Sam Aziz would be to take his young children with him to weekend events as much as possible.
“Because all of a sudden they will be grown up and I remember coming home after work (during his first term as mayor) and my sons said ‘welcome home dad’ and I said ‘I haven’t been anywhere’ – they said ‘you weren’t here for us’.
“And that makes you feel terrible because you were there for the community but not there for your family, but when you take on the role as mayor you are printed on the program – you have to turn up,” he said.
Stressing his point in a recent council meeting, Cr Morland hopes Cr Aziz can balance his term as mayor with family life.
“Work-life balance is the biggest issue when you are mayor because often there are three events on the same night as well as weekends,” he said.
