TRURO – So, how much is your councillor worth? And what about the mayor?
Those are questions that Colchester County council is asking as it undergoes a review of the pay scales for the mayor’s position and the 11 councillor seats.
Council has asked staff to undertake a review to provide an up-to-date scope of the responsibilities for mayor and council.
“It’s just not good enough anymore to say you will run for council and show up twice a month for meetings,” said councilor Bill Masters. “You’ve got to know what you’re doing and research items and we make decisions here, multi-million dollar decisions. And those decisions require commitment, transparency, integrity and I ‘ve always been of the opinion you generally have to pay for what you get and in order to attract qualified people to serve around this table and on our boards, they’ve got to also be given a reasonable remuneration.”
Mayor Bob Taylor’s remuneration for this year is $39,204 while deputy mayor Masters receives $23,897. Councillor remuneration for this year is $18,335.
All figures have been increased by 3.8 per cent over last year, based on annual adjustments related to the Consumer Price Index. Beyond the annual inflation increases, council last hiked its own pay scale in 2006.
Truro Mayor Bill Mills, by comparison, is paid $34,531 per year while town councilors receive $19,933. Truro’s deputy mayor receives $22,428.
“It is a job that not everybody has the time to do or wants to do but those that do, are required to do a heck of a lot more than used to be the case,” Masters said.
“I think we’ve got to look at what we do, what our responsibilities are and what’s our fair entitlement. I shouldn’t even say entitlement because entitlement is not the right word. What is our fair remuneration?”
Staff is report back to council once it has completed its review of responsibilities.
“We’ve got some very contentious issues, we’ve got a lot of big ticket items on the go,” Taylor said. “We’re making million-dollar decisions, $30-million budget, so I think we have to take all that into consideration.”
Comparison of council remunerations
Colchester County:
Mayor - $39,204
Deputy mayor - $23,897
Councillor - $18,335
Kings County:
Mayor - $45,000
Deputy mayor - $33,000
Councillor - $28,000
Lunenburg:
Mayor - $43,988
Deputy mayor - $30791
Councillor - $23,078
East Hants :
Mayor - $34,384
Deputy mayor - $22,183
Councillor - $17,747
West Hants:
Mayor - $36,000
Deputy mayor - $21,000
Councillor - $16,000
Chester:
Mayor - $37,337
Deputy mayor - $20,272
Councillor - $17,738
Pictou County:
Mayor - $45,889
Deputy mayor - $22,228
Councillor - $17,048
Town of Truro:
Mayor - $34,531
Deputy mayor - $22,428
Councillor - $19,933
I think councillors knew what the salary was when they ran for office. To be looking for another raise on top of the 3.8% that was just awarded is insulting to taxpayers who are struggling to make ends meet. It seems that your unfounded sense of importance is clouding your judgement!!