Mayor’s Wedding Fees Go To The Dogs … And Cats

Mayor Phil Kramer, left, officiates his final wedding of 2016 on Dec. 30.

Weddings officiated this year by Mayor Phillip Kramer have been a boon to the Franklin Township Animal Shelter and the organization that funds it, Second Chance for Animals.

That’s because the wedding fee – $50 each – goes to the group through a trust fund established by the township.

As of Dec. 30, the date of the 89th and last wedding Kramer officiated in 2016, the total donated was $4,450.

Kramer said he decided to donate the wedding fee to the shelter because, he said, “I just thought it should go back to the town, and of course, my heart is with the animals in that shelter.”

“I look at the money I get as mayor as being a stipend,” he said. “It costs a little money to be mayor, you’re invited to a lot of things, you’re asked to donate here and there, and you spend a lot of travel time. But I don’t look to profit from being mayor.”

Kramer said he doesn’t even see the money. The Township Council, he said, established a procedure so that the wedding fees go directly to SCFA.

Kramer and his wife, Laurie, have rescued five dogs over the years – all beagles – and currently have two.

Bob Pezzano, president of Second Chance for Animals, said he’s not surprised by the mayor’s action.

“Mayor Kramer has been a friend and supporter of the shelter and all animals for years as a council member,” he said in an email. “As mayor, he is showing this with his generosity.”

Pezzano said the money will be used for several needs related to medical care for the animals in the shelter.

“This money is used for not only routine care, like teeth cleaning for some of our senior animals, but also emergency care,” he said. “We have some animals which need daily medication, which can get expensive.”

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