Council pay

Council approves salary increases for next term after weeks of debate

After weeks of debate and two previous attempts to reach a decision, Council has approved salary increases for members of the next term. Beginning January 1, 2027, councillors will receive an annual salary of $40,422, up 27 per cent from the current $29,645. The mayor’s salary will increase by 39 per cent, rising from $59,290 to $96,500.

The decision came during Tuesday’s council meeting, marking the third time in six weeks the issue had been debated. Members revisited whether council remuneration should increase, by how much, and whether higher compensation is necessary to encourage a broader range of candidates to seek office in the October municipal election.

Mayor Steve Ferguson reminded members that if none of the proposed options received majority support, the municipality would default to maintaining the current pay structure.

Council approved the second of four remuneration options presented. The successful option was based on an average of comparable council compensation of six single-tier municipalities and was carried by an 8-6 vote.

“I don’t think waiting another four years is prudent,” said Councillor Kate MacNaughton. “I also don’t think council pay should become an election issue. Council size is the issue voters should be debating.”

The issue had previously come before Council on June 9, when votes to increase councillor pay and maintain the existing pay, both lost. Both failed on a six-to-six tie.

With only 12 of the 14 councillors present that day, several members questioned whether such an important decision should be made without a full council.

When it returned last week, Councillor John Hirsch said it was important to settle the matter.

“We need to send out a message about what this job is really worth today,” he said.

Councillor Brad Nieman questioned why Council was revisiting the issue after the earlier decision implied leaving it as is.

“What I heard was that if everything failed, we would go back to the status quo,” Nieman said. “That’s exactly what happened two weeks ago, so why didn’t the same rule apply then?”

Councillor David Harrison criticized the process itself, saying the multiple voting scenarios had created unnecessary confusion.

“I don’t like having to rely on that confusing report with all those options,” Harrison said. “I don’t see why we can’t simply make our own decision instead of having one vote trump another.”

Councillor Chris Braney argued the timing was premature, noting Council is awaiting the outcome of a ballot question related to council’s future composition.

“We could find ourselves having this discussion all over again in a year and a half,” Braney said. “I think we should wait until we know the outcome before making changes.”

Voting to approve the new compensation plan were Mayor Steve Ferguson and councillors John Hirsch, Kate MacNaughton, Bill Roberts, Sam Grosso, Sam Branderhorst, Janice Maynard and Phil St-Jean. Opposed were councillors Roy Pennell, Brad Nieman, Phil Prinzen, David Harrison, Corey Engelsdorfer and Chris Braney.