THUNDER BAY – The new set of elected municipal leaders could be bringing home a bigger paycheque starting next year.
Thunder Bay city council on Monday night is scheduled to decide on upping pay to the mayor and councillors to offset the loss of the one-third tax free exemption, as well as an increase that is equal to half of the rate of inflation over the past decade.
The salaries had most recently been reviewed in 2008. In March 2017, council voted to form a citizen committee to examine council remuneration and produce recommendations.
The mayor’s base salary, which is currently $80,000, would be increased by $5,600 beginning on Dec. 1 when the new term officially begins. Councillors, who currently earn a base salary of $27,000, would collect an additional $1,890 when they’re sworn into office.
Committee chair Matt Pearson said those raises represent half the 14 per cent rate of inflation in Thunder Bay over the last 10 years.
“It’s not like a raise was out of the question,” Pearson said. “We feel the increases are very modest.”
The city also conducted a public survey late last year, which Pearson said produced results that are representative of their proposal.
The committee also recommended a further increase to the salaries taking effect on Jan. 1, 2019, when the federal government cancels the one-third tax free exemption to elected municipal officials. That change will bring the mayor’s salary to $93,300 and each councillor’s rate to $30,672.
“Essentially the next paycheque for that mayor or councillor – if nothing got done – would be significantly less in the take home,” Pearson said, adding all municipalities across Canada are in the same position and most are going ahead with increases to offset the tax change.
“We’re increasing the rate of pay so the take home portion of income remains unchanged.”
The committee is also recommending that beginning in January 2020 the salaries be annually adjusted at half the rate of inflation.
That approach strikes a balance of keeping the salaries updated while not also guaranteeing increases that might not reflect the city’s economic climate, Pearson said.
“On our committee there were quite a few people who don’t get a raise every year because a year goes by,” Pearson said. “We wanted to make sure council was representative of that and not everybody enjoys that. We felt this mitigated that.”
