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An attempt to hit the brakes on a recommendation by the District\u2019s finance committee to increase the compensation of District councillors<\/span><\/a> by 27 per cent over the next four years of the new term of council was defeated at District\u2019s February 22 council meeting.<\/p>\n\n\n The motion will bring District council pay up to the 45th percentile when compared to councillor salaries in Simcoe, Niagara, Peterborough, Wellington, and Oxford. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The recommendation also calls for an increase of $2,000 per year for the chairs of the upper-tier municipality\u2019s four standing committees, as well as an annual increase of $2,400 for the District chair (salaries between years 1-4 of $100,730, $103,130, $105,530, and $107,930) and an annual increase for the deputy chair of $3,518 (with salaries between years 1-4 of $25,808, $29,326, $32,844, and $36,362).<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cHow can we justify a substantial increase for ourselves when there are so many in need?\u201d questioned Councillor Don Smith. \u201cHow do we justify an increase of this magnitude when homelessness remains an issue? When many are still struggling to recover from the impacts of COVID on their lives and their businesses, and when the waiting list for public housing in Muskoka is anticipated to jump by 20 to 25 per cent in the next two years?<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cAnd very importantly, how can we negotiate in good faith with our employees if we approve an increase that is far greater than [what] they have been receiving?” added Smith. “At a time when we need to show leadership and restraint, the original motion does not.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Smith put an amended motion on the floor, seconded by Councillor Karin Terziano, which would instead have seen inflationary annual increases in tune with those received by managers and non-union staff at the District.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The new recommendation would\u2019ve also added $1,000 to the base pay of District committee chairs and increased the salary of the deputy chair by $10,739.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Terziano, who sits on the finance committee, said that while she supported the initial recommendation because it was the lesser amount of the other options presented, the option to increase council wages by the cost of living was not as thoroughly discussed. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI\u2019ve certainly since realized that there was an Option 4 and that was the cost of living and we didn\u2019t probably discuss that as much as we should have and I don\u2019t think in any of my years on council, at any level, I really ever supported much more than a cost-of-living increase for employees at the municipal level or at the District level,\u201d she said, adding that she would not be supporting that recommendation. \u201cAs Councillor Smith said, it\u2019s about a 27 per cent increase over a term of council. I don\u2019t think we would do that for our staff, and I certainly can\u2019t support doing it for council.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Councillor Phil Harding, on the other hand, defended committee’s recommendation. \u201cThe reality is we\u2019re actually voting in this for the next term of council, and I think it is appropriate to have a look at what is out there in a comparator group,\u201d he countered. \u201cI don\u2019t believe there is a person on this Zoom call that has ever had a constituent say that you\u2019re overpaid for the work you do, or they\u2019ll use the word the ‘abuse’ at times we take because our phone rings 24 hours a day. Our emails come in at whatever the hot topic is. We are required to understand and make best decisions based on all of our constituents\u2026 We\u2019re still being responsible in my perspective but saying we are not duly compensated\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Councillor Frank Jaglowitz said he was in favour of supporting the new motion limiting council increases to inflation but said he wanted to see additional funds for the work of committee chairs and the deputy chair, which the new resolution would have included.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Discussions also took place about whether comparing councillor salaries to staff salaries, or whether comparator municipalities used to compare how other councillors are paid in other regions, was appropriate.<\/p>\n\n\n Councillor Peter Cooper said he thinks councillors should be fairly compensated for the work they do. He said he did not consider his role as District councillor as a part-time position. \u201cIt takes a lot of hours, and I don\u2019t know about the rest of the council but it isn\u2019t part-time. It\u2019s almost a volunteer job and as far as percentages are concerned, I\u2019d like to point out that we\u2019re starting at a relatively low number. And so if we\u2019re making comparisons to staff, our salary, shall we say, is relatively low so if you have a five or six per cent increase on a very low number, it\u2019s not all that substantial,\u201d he said, adding that fair compensation is necessary to attract quality candidates to the table. He also said there are many costs associated with doing the work and noted the large area he covers. \u201cIn my case, it\u2019s rather expensive because a lot of it is on the water. Boats are pretty inefficient so I would just like to point out that I don\u2019t get paid for that, I do it because I want to help my area and I think there are a lot of costs associated with conducting this work.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Councillor Mark Quemby, an alternate for Councillor Graydon Smith who was absent from the meeting, said councillor salaries are a very small part of the overall District budget. \u201cI do feel that you will attract better candidates with a higher salary and I\u2019m hoping those better candidates can do a good job with the budget, in the different fields they have knowledge in, to reduce the amount of money that\u2019s being spent by a much larger scale on the District budget as a whole…\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n Quemby also said he thinks the cost of inflation locally is much higher than the cost of inflation that is being recorded provincially or nationally. \u201cI am in favour of councillors earning a good salary and it\u2019s one of the reasons I\u2019ve never run for a District position. It\u2019s not worth my time, no offence, I\u2019m not trying to offend anyone, but my business keeps me so busy that I can\u2019t\u2026 afford the time off from my business to put the time into District council,\u201d he said, adding that he applauds those who do… \u201cIf I was compensated more I\u2019d certainly give it more consideration\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cHow many of our staff are making $23,000 a year?\u201d asked Councillor Allen Edwards. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Perhaps part-time employees, responded staff.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cSo in other words we\u2019re underpaid,” said Edwards. “You know, I answer a phone 24-7 and… I get calls on Saturdays and Sundays.\u201d Edwards added that he\u2019s told all the time, \u201cyou guys aren\u2019t paid enough for what you have to take.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Edwards said if people think the increase is too much \u201cthey can vote us out\u2026 I don\u2019t think we should be ashamed of saying, hey, the next council \u2013 and I might not even run \u2013 but the next council should be paid… accordingly.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Councillor Bob Lacroix said many of the issues that were being raised at council were the same issues that were raised at the committee level. \u201cAll I\u2019m going to say is that you know I\u2019m on that committee. We had a lot of the same questions that are coming up today that are raised by Councillor Smith.\u201d In fact, he said, they had so many questions that the issue was discussed at two committee meetings. \u201cI will say that it is hard when you\u2019re comparing apples to oranges. Nobody is the same, whether you\u2019re in Muskoka, Simcoe, Toronto, everybody\u2019s different. It\u2019s hard to compare but there\u2019s no other way to make it fair for everybody, but to compare to other councillors.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Lacroix said he thought the recommendation from the finance committee was fair. \u201cIt\u2019s only in the 45 percentile, it was nowhere near the top of the list which were [compared] with bigger areas,\u201d he said, adding that he would be supporting the original motion, the same one he supported at committee.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Councillor Heidi Lorenz reminded councillors that they’re also being paid by the lower-tier municipalities they represent. \u201cNobody is mentioning that we\u2019re getting paid $23\/$24,000 at the township level, so we\u2019re making, you know, $45\/$46,000 a year which\u2026 is a lot of money compared to a lot of people who you represent\u2026,\u201d she told her fellow councillors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Councillor Rick Maloney said he understood the position of those for and against the original recommendation, although he expressed concern with \u201cthe gap getting wider and wider and wider and at some point then there is this recommendation for a major significant increase.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Councillor Brian Thompson also noted that councillors put in a lot of time. He said the cost of living would work only when councillors get caught up. \u201cBut at this point, I think it\u2019s imperative that we follow the comparative issue which staff goes through a great deal of difficulty and time to come up with… and as a result of that I think if we all sit back and look at how many hours we actually do put in, I think we\u2019d probably be a little bit surprised.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n The amended resolution moved by Smith and seconded by Terziano was put before council and Councillor Lorenz asked for a recorded vote. Six councillors voted in favour of keeping increases at the rate of inflation: Smith, Terziano, Lorenz, Jaglowitz, Tim Withey, and Nancy Alcock.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Everyone else voted in favour of the initial resolution which would amount to about a 27 per cent increase to councillor salaries over the next four years of the new term of council, along with other increases to standing committee chairs as well as the District and deputy chair of Muskoka.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Councillor Paul Wiancko was absent from the meeting.<\/p>\n\n\nDon\u2019t miss out on Doppler!<\/h5>\n