Are Huntsville’s mayor and councillors being fairly compensated? That’s the question behind a bylaw amendment presented to council at the June 29 General Committee meeting by Manager of Legislative Services Tanya Calleja.
If approved at the next council meeting, the amendment would allow town staff to review council remuneration and compare it to those of ten other municipalities: Township of Muskoka Lakes, Town of Gravenhurst, Town of Bracebridge, Township of Clearview, Township of Springwater, Township of Oro-Medonte, Town of Blue Mountains, Town of Midland, Town of Wasaga Beach, and Town of Collingwood.
Under the proposed bylaw, council remuneration would be reviewed once per term and not in the final year of the term, with changes being implemented for the following term of council.
In the past, council remuneration has been reviewed by both consultants and staff: in a 2003 report by Justice Stanton Hogg; in a 2009 report by Gazdha Houlne Consulting which initiated internally with staff who conducted their own review; and in a 2014 report by the Remuneration and Compensation for Council Working Group, according to Town CAO Denise Corry. (See the working group’s report on p10-11 here.)
The 2014 recommendations of the working group were rejected by council at its April 28, 2014 meeting in favour of a lesser increase.
For the next term of council (2019-2022), neither a working group nor a consultant will be used to present recommendations to council. “There weren’t any statistical numbers or figures (included in the working group’s report),” said Calleja at the General Committee meeting. “I felt that it would be a great idea to come with a report with some comparators.”
Councillor Jonathan Wiebe questioned where the change was coming from: “Do we feel we aren’t where we should be? Where did this originate?”
The Town’s CAO, Denise Corry, clarified the review process for councillors. “With respect to council compensation, it’s not uncommon to have regular reviews. It’s fairly consistent with other municipalities across the province of Ontario. As with compensation for staff, compensation for council changes as well. It would appear that in some areas, the level of involvement councillors have and the work that they are required to do is increasing year to year.”
In a follow-up email to Doppler, Corry said that staff are currently conducting a market review based on municipal comparators for Town staff, and “it would not be too difficult to do the same for members of council as well. Rather than striking a new working group or hiring a consultant, staff felt we could do it ourselves.”
Corry added that the criteria used for comparison are: number of meeting allowances, expenses (i.e. IT allowances), whether there are different costs for positions (i.e. Deputy Mayor or Chair on a Committee), taxable benefits (i.e. 1/3 tax free) and cost of living increases. The municipal comparators will be outlined in the final report for review.
“By having the ten comparators, it really gives data so if there are any questions among your constituents it gives you data to show that these are equal comparators, they are like for like for geography, population, seasonal and permanent residents,” she said to councillors at the meeting. “They are very similar. I think it’s prudent to use those stats and bring it forward to council because it is a lot of commitment that council has to serve our community and it should be recognized accordingly.”
Via email to Doppler she added, “I feel that the role of council has evolved over time and it is only fair that the compensation reflects the expectations and commitment of the position.”
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I could not agree more, Derek. It is an honour to serve your constituency at any level. Personally, for more than 20 years, I have volunteered at all levels from municipal to federal for no more than expenses. That represents thousands of hours expended on causes in which I fervently believe. The foregoing is not intended as self-aggrandizement; countless other Canadians could make the same claim. I like to think that this brand of empathy represents one major difference between us and our neighbours to the south.
Mr. Wiebe, who is certainly one of our most thoughtful and vocal Councillors, asked the proper question: “Where did this originate?” My answer: “No comment required”.
Right On Derek
Personally, I think the whole process of “comparing” remunerations to other communities represents part of the problem with our society. If “A” gets a raise so should “B”??? what ever happened to doing the job (any job) for the sake of the job and not so much for how much it pays. I believe our elected official do a great job. if they are doing it for the money then we have elected the wrong people – I don’t believe we have. Therefore, let’s not use comparisons to pay but what we can afford to pay – if we can afford more than Bracebridge then pay it – if we can’t it means taking from somewhere else.