Money talks, and this week county council considered that it’s not talking enough.
As county council members haven’t had raises since 2008, council is nearing the end of its term and new legislation is coming through to eliminate tax exemptions for municipal figures, the time was right for the staff report brought forward on Tuesday concerning county council remuneration changes.
The recommendations for consideration were two-fold: to provide an increase of $5,000 to the base salary for the Deputy Warden and councillors and to increase compensation to address the loss of the one-third tax benefit.
“We’re below minimum wage at this point, according to the report,” said Bradford Deputy Mayor James Leduc. “We have to oversee a half-a-billion-dollar budget.”
Leduc objected to classifying the county council positions as being equatable to a 35-hour work week.
“We all know we have to be available 24/7 for this job,” said Leduc.
Adjala Tosorontio Deputy Mayor Doug Little took issue with the money talks.
“We shouldn’t be doing this for the compensation,” said Little. “If you are, you might be in the wrong place.”
Although the report was initially passed in committee of the whole, when it was pulled again for a recorded vote after the lively debate, committee of the whole defeated the motion in a recorded vote 72-39.
When reached on Thursday for an interview, Leduc expressed disappointment that some members of council seemed to have switched their votes once it became clear they would be recorded.
“Sometimes, open debate can help change your mind, which I'm in full support of,” he said. “But maybe, it’s because it’s an election year.”
Leduc holds onto his opinion that council deserves raises after 10 years of stagnation.
“If you were in the private sector – you would be screaming,” he says. “We should be working to attract new, young talent. It’s a lot of work and there’s a lot of time involved. It takes people out of the arena when they’re not compensated fairly.”
In response to Little’s comments in the meeting, Leduc says he agrees.
“We’re not really doing it for the money. You’re doing it because you love your community,” says Leduc. “It’s just about fair pay for a job you’re doing seven days a week.”
Under the current fee structure, annually the Warden makes $63,960.93 (no per diem), the Deputy Warden makes $42,636.46 (no per diem) and each county councillor made a base rate of $9,860.47 with a per diem of $246.54 for each council or committee meeting attended, and events when they are formally asked to represent the county.
On average, members of county council earned between $15,000 and $19,000 in 2017 for their county duties.
According to the staff report, the base remuneration equates to $5.42 per hour, for a 35-hour work week. Assuming $4,930.80 for 20 meetings in per diems is claimed, councillors should be making about $8.13 per hour.
Innisfil Deputy Mayor Lynn Dollin can see both sides of the debate, having worked in municipal politics in the county for 24 years.
“Back when I started (in municipal politics) in 1994, it cost more for me to get a babysitter than I made that year,” she said this week, when reached for an interview.
“To be honest, I agreed with all of (the points made at county council). I can see both sides,” she said. “You want it to be enough money that you can attract highly qualified people to run for office.”
Dollin says she would prefer if there was a small cost-of-living increase every year, rather than a freeze for 10 years and then a big jump, so it wouldn’t be so abrasive from an optics standpoint.
Council compensation is always a contentious issue, with a negative public perception of a council approving themselves a raise.
The staff report indicates they feel current council is better prepared to make this decision at the end of their term for the county council of 2019-2022, as they understand the workload and duties required of county councillors.
Under Section 255 of the (old) Municipal Act, one-third of the remuneration paid to the elected members of council was considered as expenses, and was able to be written off on taxes. Now Bill C44, which takes effect January 2019, removes the one third tax exemption.
County staff will now go back and prepare a new report on the issue to be presented to county council at their next meeting in August.
