County News
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.
Although Councillor salaries effective Jan 1, 2027 as a result of this change are still short of a living wage based on 40 hours a week, this addresses a well-known barrier to potential Council (and even Mayor) candidates who are not independently wealthy and/or have other sources of income.
The debate about Council size is irrelevant for the Oct 2026 election. There should be new challengers for each and every sitting Councillor, creating at least the possibility of change that can right-size the County operating expenses, debt, staffing and property taxes.
Let’s see if we now get more people standing for office, especially for the Councillor role.
The hours of work submitted by the Mayor and Council [elected] positions vary in what each person is capable of giving, due to their personal situation. There are no set hours. There are no set days. So, the question remains, how much to pay these positions when we have no idea what each individual person is capable of providing their particular elected position. This should be stipulated in any pay-scale being considered. What do we need to do – have our Council submit detailed time-sheets each week at Shire Hall, in order to pay each person appropriately for the work they do, with a maximum salary being stipulated for the position of Mayor and Councillor? Here are some facts to ponder over:
NOTE: Part/Full Time designation for PEC’s Mayor/Councillors
Verified from Clerks Dept. and Corporate Customer Service Coordinator:
These are neither part-time/ nor full-time positions held by the Mayor and Council. It is an elected position whereby each member has the autonomy to work the number of hours needed to perform their duties as outlined in sections 224-226 of the Municipal Act.
NOTE: A Ward Councillor’s Obligations/Communications with the Ward Residents
Verified from Clerks Dept.:
1. Are the Councillors under any obligation, whatsoever, to tell the residents of the Ward who elected them, just what they’ve been doing on behalf of that Ward [NOT PEC as a whole, but the Ward itself] and, if so, how often is a reasonable expectation for them to give that report? [ie quarterly, annually?]
Response:
We encourage Councillors to connect with their ward residents in the way they see fit. Some choose to host town hall meetings, while others prefer to send regular newsletters. Ultimately, the approach depends entirely on each individual Councillor’s leadership style and the specific expectations provided to them by their constituents. To that end, the public also needs to actively communicate their expectations to their ward Councillor regarding how, and how often, they wish to receive updates.
Furthermore, as the leader of the team, the Mayor should also play a key role in setting clear communication and accountability expectations for Council as a whole. Because there is no standard, legislated timeline (such as quarterly or annually), establishing that direct dialogue, paired with leadership from the top is the best way to ensure a ward’s unique communication needs are being met.