City council could receive its second pay raise in just over four months.
On the heels of boosting their stipend at the start of this term, councillors will consider adding another $1,177 to their annual stipend.
A new report recommends council increase their own pay by 2.3 per cent, according to a policy intended to increase council paycheques in line with inflation.
Councillor Josh Morgan, who chairs the corporate services committee, says “It may seem a little out of the ordinary because last term council froze all of those increases for four years while they undertook a compensation review conducted by an independent panel.”
But the timing is awkward coming on the heels of a substantial pay hike.
Councillors used to earn the taxable equivalent of about $36,000 a year.
The previous council voted to increase pay to $51,181 on Dec. 1, 2018 when the new term began. The increase was based on an independent review and a change in tax policy.
The proposed inflationary increase would add another $1,177 retroactive to Jan. 1.
Councillor Phil Squire was surprised to learn he may be in line for a second pay raise since Dec. 1, 2018.
“You're giving yourself two raises over a short period of time, and the optics aren't good at all.”
The role of a city councillor has traditionally been considered part-time, but the 2016 council compensation task force acknowledged that the workload has steadily increased.
The task force recommended a pay raise of almost 30 per cent for councillors, a figure equivalent to the median full time salary in London.
But no expectations were provided on how many hours councillors should dedicate to city hall.
Squire was one of five councillors who opposed the 30 per cent increase.
“We haven't defined it as a full-time job, we haven't defined it as a part-time job, so lots of people in the public are confused about what we do and how many hours we spend.”
The Corporate Services Committee will discuss the pay increase on Tuesday.
