Does council deserve another pay increase? Compensation review being considered
Council is responsible for setting its own financial compensation, and next week they may reopen several politically charged issues related to their pay cheques.
On Monday, the Governance Working Group (GWG) will consider developing a new full-time councillor compensation model for the next term starting in 2026, as well as establish the scope of work for an independent Council Compensation Review Task Force (CCRTF).
“The pay is not the issue,” said Londoner Bill Brock, who attended the meetings of two previous compensation task forces in 2016 and 2021. “This is the first I’ve heard of [another review]. We just had one. They got raises!”
The mayor’s salary has grown by more than $10,000 over the last three years to $157,662.
Earlier this year, council boosted the salaries of the deputy mayor and budget chair positions by 12.5 per cent to recognize the additional workload.
Those positions now earn $73,279.
The remaining councillors earn an amount equivalent to the median full time employment income in London as determined in the most recent census.
In 2024, that totals $65,137.
“This is a very large (and) complex operation. This is not an average job,” said Deputy Mayor Shawn Lewis, who chairs GWG meetings.
Lewis believes councillors deserve more than the average employment income, comparing the work of council to a board of directors.
As London’s population approaches half-a-million people, he said being a ward councillor has become a full-time role.
“We need councillors who can do this job. Focus on this job without having to worry about needing another job to make ends meet,” Lewis told CTV News.
A final report from the most recent Council Compensation Review Task Force was presented to council in March of 2022.
It determined that councillors should continue to earn the median employment income in London, but added that annual increases be automatic based on federal census data.
The recommendation sought to de-politicize a previous requirement that council vote to approve its annual raise based on the inflation rate.
Lewis would like an expanded compensation review to include a clear job description and set of expectations for council members.
Councillors set their own performance expectations with few rules regarding attendance, communication with constituents, and participation on external boards and commissions.
At times, it’s led to friction between council members because of an uneven distribution of their shared workload.
Lewis suggests a fairer system might be a return to receiving financial stipends for each committee, external board, or similar role a councillor takes on.
“We have other councillors who are not filling those roles, and so maybe the base pay stays the same [for each member] and maybe it’s kind of a pay-for-performance [compensation system] where if you take on extra work, you get bonus pay for that extra work,” he explained.
Brock calls for a full governance review to clearly define council responsibilities and prevent politicians from wading into the responsibilities of city staff.
“They need a review of the governance structure between what the administration does and what the councillors do,” he said. “In the old days, the councillors were the policy setters and the staff were the experts.”
On Monday, the GWG will consider the staff report about conducting a council compensation review.
If council decides to launch a compensation task force, it would begin work in January and prepare recommendations by June 2025.
Annual salary of the mayor
- 2022 $147,165
- 2023 $152,323
- 2024 $157,662
Annual salary of a councillor
- 2022 $60,800
- 2023 $62,931
- 2024 $65,137
Annual salary of deputy mayor and budget chair
- 2022 $60,800
- 2023 $62,931
- 2024 $73,279
Additional benefits for municipal politicians include:
- parking at city hall
- car allowance
- travel expenses
- expense allowance
- healthcare benefits
- life insurance
- private office/meeting space
- technology (cellphone, computer, etc.)
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Trump delivers rambling response to his hush money conviction
A day after a New York jury delivered a historic guilty verdict in Donald Trump's criminal hush money trial, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee held a press conference Friday where he spoke publicly about the conviction and his White House bid.
Mediterranean diet helps women live much longer, a large new study finds
Women who closely followed a Mediterranean diet lived much longer than those who did not, according to a new study that followed more than 25,000 women for 25 years.
How did Ontario's bankrupt 'Crypto King' travel the world on Scene+ points?
Newly released documents suggest Ontario’s so-called ‘Crypto King’ paid for months of world travels with $13,000 worth of Scene+ points while bankrupt – but how?
'We will go with the majority': Liberals slammed by opposition over proposal to delay next election
The federal Liberal government learned Friday it might have to retreat on a proposal within its electoral reform legislation to delay the next vote by one week, after all opposition parties came out to say they can't support it.
Solutions coming for piled-up bodies outside Newfoundland hospital
Health officials in Newfoundland and Labrador say they are only weeks away from a solution to move unclaimed human remains out of roadside freezers and into a nearby hospital.
Jurors weigh death penalty after finding Chad Daybell guilty of killing his first wife and second wife's 2 children
A day after delivering a guilty verdict in Chad Daybell’s murder trial, an Idaho jury will reconvene Friday to weigh whether he will face the death penalty.
Actor Nick Pasqual charged with attempted murder after allegedly stabbing estranged girlfriend
An actor who has appeared in film and TV projects like 'Rebel Moon' and 'How I Met Your Mother' has been arrested and charged with stabbing his estranged girlfriend multiple times.
'Unprecedented': Human smuggling from B.C. to U.S. soars, using train, Uber and foot
American prosecutors and law enforcement officers say they're dealing with a huge increase in human smuggling from British Columbia.
The northern lights are returning to night skies across Canada this Friday
If you missed the brilliant displays of the aurora borealis over North America on May 10, you may have another chance to see them on Friday night.