Lake of Bays council approves a 9.79 per cent increase to councillor salaries, starting next term

Lake of Bays council has voted in favour of increasing the salaries of councillors—but not the mayor or deputy mayor—by 9.79 per cent or $2,000 for the next term of council from 2022 to 2026.

At its February 8 meeting, council received a report by Township director of corporate services Carrie Sykes.

In her report Sykes indicated that based on comparisons made with other municipalities, Lake of Bays councillors are receiving a salary which is about 10 per cent lower than their counterparts in other areas.

Comparators used for the analysis included lower-tier municipalities in Muskoka as well as the townships of Algonquin Highlands, Severn, Penetanguishene, Wasaga Beach, and Seguin.

See the charts below:

Other recommendations included:

• Annual increase to council salary and expenses reflective of Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA);
• Maintain the 24-hour accident insurance coverage for $100,000;
• Maintain the $1,000 annual cash in lieu of health and dental benefits;
• Reimburse expenses incurred (i.e. mileage, meals, etc.) for all business conducted on behalf of the Township (previously only reimbursed for business conducted outside of the municipalities boundaries); and
• Eliminate the stipend for information technology costs and provide each councillor with a laptop and cell phone.

Councillors seemed to prefer a monetary contribution towards their IT costs, rather than being given a phone and a laptop. Currently, councillors get $1,200 for the first year and $500 per year for the remaining three years of their mandate.

Sykes asked whether council wanted to maintain the initial $1,200 or increase it. She said some of the other municipalities pay an initial sum of between $1,300 and $1,500, plus the $500 each year thereafter. Council decided to leave it as-is.

The bylaw will be formulated by staff and be presented at the March council meeting. You can find the full report here (pdf).

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