Duane Hicks
Town council agreed to put off a planned increase in pay for the incoming mayor and council this December, instead electing to freeze its remuneration at its current level for another two years.
Council approved a report from the Administration and Finance executive committee during its regular meeting Monday evening, which recommended they take a cue from Premier Dalton McGuinty and Finance minister Dwight Duncan’s invitation last month to municipalities to follow the province’s lead in instituting a two-year wage freeze for provincial employees.
Coun. Andrew Hallikas said Monday the planned increases, which were supposed to kick in Dec. 1, now won’t come into effect until Dec. 1, 2012.
“Council had previously raised councillor remuneration and now, in following with the dictum from the premier of the province that we should look at zero raises, we’re looking at a zero raise for council in the next two years,” he explained.
“We’re freezing it.”
While council previously had approved a pay hike for the incoming council, along with other amendments to policy earlier this year, Mayor Roy Avis requested at the April 12 council meeting that the decision be reviewed.
“The government’s direction when they did their budget was that they were going to be freezing the pay of all of the people that are directly tied to the provincial government and they suggested the municipalities should follow suit,” Mayor Avis noted after Monday’s meeting, adding that council should “set the example.”
As previously reported, a revised remuneration and travel policy for both town staff and members of council was approved back in January.
The revised policy included an increase in remuneration to the positions of mayor and council, which were to come into effect Dec. 1, 2010 to coincide with the installation of the 2010-14 council.
It had recommended the position of mayor be paid $23,000 per year, instead of $22,322 as it is now, while councillor remuneration would jump to $12,000 from $10,507.
The deputy mayor also would see a hike from $10,507 to $13,500.
The last time the salary structure was revised was in 2003, at which time the pay for mayor and council actually went down when the benefits package they used to receive was cut—reducing total salaries by about $4,000.
The benefits package continues to be offered as an option council members can buy into at their own expense.
In the revised policy, the benefits package option has remained status quo.
