Councillors on Sechelt’s finance committee are making the case that the public should not look at a proposed increase in the gross pay for mayor and council as a raise.
A report presented to the committee’s June 13 meeting recommended an adjustment to the gross pay to “offset” the loss of a tax-free allowance.
The 2017 federal budget eliminated the policy that made one-third of the pay for mayor and council non-taxable. The change comes into force Jan. 1, 2019, which is also when the remuneration changes would take effect.
Director of finance Doug Stewart said the proposed increases were calculated to ensure mayor and council maintain their current level of take-home pay.
“Unfortunately, the approval is to send $13,500 to Ottawa, that’s the net impact of this,” he said.
Mayor Bruce Milne said the question for councillors is whether the incoming council should earn less than the current council.
“I would argue that they should not get less,” he said.
That view was echoed by Coun. Noel Muller, who expressed concern that public discussion would be “rife with misinformation.”
Muller was also highly critical of the federal policy change. “I’m definitely not in agreement with Bill C-54 and the idea behind it was to claw back a really important support federally for mayors and councils who are volunteers.”
Muller and Coun. Alice Lutes also argued that a reduction in take-home pay would discourage some people from serving in local government. “We’re having trouble finding people to run, especially of a younger age, just because it isn’t sustainable for a family,” said Lutes.
The committee recommended that the gross pay for the mayor go up by 11.7 per cent, or $4,342 annually, and pay for councillors be increased by 9.78, or $1,482. The councillor appointed acting mayor would get an increase of 8.72 per cent, or $1,742.
The committee is also recommending staff draft a council remuneration policy that would include formalizing measures like an annual cost of living increase.
The recommendations still need endorsement at full council.
According to the most recent figures on pay and expenses, the district’s 2016 Statement of Financial Information (SOFI), Mayor Bruce Milne was paid $42,277.64 and council pay ranged from $18,559.84 to $25,141.82.
