Council Says No To Boost In Wage
Prince George, B.C. – Council for the City of Prince George has rejected boosting the salary of Councillors to 40% of the Mayor's salary by 2018.
The remuneration review said the Mayor’s salary did not need to be increased beyond the annual adjustment (based on contract settlements) and pegged the Mayor’s salary at $94,182.00.
It called for the amount paid to Councilors to be boosted both as an annual adjustment using the same formula as is used to adjust the Mayor’s salary, and then a further boost in years ahead.
Right now, the Councilor pay ($31,394.00) is based on one third of the Mayor’s salary. The committee recommended the pay be increased starting in 2016 to make the salary 35% of the Mayor’s rate, then a further boost in 2017 to make it 37.5% of the Mayor’s salary and increased again in 2018 to make it 40% of the Mayor’s salary.
Based on the current salary of the Mayor, here’s how those increases would have played out :
- $32,963.00 in 2016 x 8 Councilors = $263,704.00
- $35,318.25 in 2017 x 8 Councilors = $282,546.00
- $37,368.00 in 2018 x 8 Councilors = $298,944.00
Councillor Garth Frizzell said while Councillors should be compensated, fairly, "This is not the right thing to do." That sentiment was echoed by Councillors Frank Everitt, Brian Skakun, and Lyn Hall. It was Hall who reflected on the austerity measures that have been taken over the past couple of years "We've gone through a horrific period around this table, we've gone through a tremendous amount of belt tightening" He says it is a show of leadership and responsibility to not support an increase.
Not including expenses, the cost of remuneration for Councilors in 2013 was $251,152.00. The proposed increases mean that, before expenses, Council remuneration in 2018 would have been $298,944.00 an increase of $47,792.00 or 19%.
Mayor Shari Green and Councillor Dave Wilbur were the only two to support the call for a boost in councilor wages, that recommendation was defeated.
The report also calls for Councilors to be paid a per kilometer rate for personal use of vehicles for out of town travel, at a rate set by the Canada Revenue Agency. Council unanimously approved that recommendation.
Comments
Tremendous amount of belt tightening yet creation of many new positions that fatten the pockets of a chosen few. I still don’t know why we have a city manager or what she does?
What’s the true wage.. Tax free for how much ? Expense accounts for how much ?
If we are throwing around numbers let’s use the total expense for mayor and council
Green voting for this shows how her %10 percent cuts in city hall was just a typical lie for votes.. Say goodbye green.
It was Hall who reflected on the austerity measures that have been taken over the past couple of years “We’ve gone through a horrific period around this table, we’ve gone through a tremendous amount of belt tightening”
———-
“Austerity” measures? What has this guy been smoking? 60 mill on a cop shop, 16 mill on Kin 1, 4 mill on the new building on Quinn (?) for city workers, taxes on rain water, taxes for the winter games, the PAC still raising it’s ugly head, etc. etc. etc.
I know this guy is Meisner’s friend but a little less subjectivity in the alleged reporting would be nice.
Blind Monkeys throwing darts could run the city better than green and council.
Elections must be coming, nice posturing fellas!
awww why you pick n on monkeys for ?? but your right ,,, I have washed my hands of this joke ,, waiting for November :)
There are many people who volunteer for charities for no remuneration except for expenses who put in as many and maybe more hours than the councillors.
Since when did being a councillor become an occupation?
You have to wonder how many said no to this knowing they won’t be re-elected and don’t really care if there is a raise.
Wilbur is out of touch thinking he deserves a hefty raise. Enough feeding at the public trough. Time to bid him goodbye along with his buddies, “say one thing and do another” Green and Stolz, “the artful tax dodger”. November can’t come soon enough.
They pretend to be conservatives but increase spending and taxes and sometime their own salaries each and every year.
No wonder they all would rather be an MP. Wilbur tried and failed as did Stolz. Green might get the closest to the sweet prize depending on how people view her and the rest of the neo-con take over of the local conservative constituency association. Hopefully with them gone some common sense can return to city hall.
The mayors rate is tied to the increases within city hall so it does increase a few percentages a year. The councillor rate is one third the mayors rate so it also increases annually already.
People running for mayor and council used to do it in a belief to make things better in the city much like other volunteers in the same city, in the past it carried no monetary gain much like a volunteer. All working for the betterment of the city as a whole. But not anymore with corporate donations and the like giving them all an agenda, how can they not feel somewhat in arrears to those who payed to get them elected?
Comments for this article are closed.