Montreal Gazette

Councils considerin­g fair pay to reflect shifting responsibi­lities

- KATHRYN GREENAWAY kgreenaway@postmedia.com

Last week Ste-Anne-de-Bellevue town council approved a pay raise for elected officials. Beaconsfie­ld’s council has not had a pay raise beyond the cost-of-living bump since 2015. The last time Baie-D’Urfé’s elected officials had a pay raise was 2013.

Talking remunerati­on can be awkward. What job deserves what money?

Municipal councils were prompted to study their pay situation following the adoption of a new pay grid by the Union des municipali­tés du Québec (UMQ) this year, which looks at more than population. It also considers the number of important files handled by a municipal council. Another important change in play is the fact that, beginning in 2019, the once tax-free expense allowance allotted each elected official will be folded into the salary and will be taxed.

Mayor Paola Hawa’s salary increased to $28,109 from $24,024 and her expense allowance increased to $9,370 from $8,009. Councillor salaries jumped to $14,055 from $12,012 and the expense allowance rose to $4,685 from $4,005.

Hawa said it’s not uncommon to put in a 50-hour week and that working nights and weekends happens frequently. She said SteAnne’s population may be a modest 5,000, but within its territory there is a university campus, a CEGEP, a hospital, the locks, and a tour-destinatio­n waterfront with a bar and restaurant strip. The handling of those files is reflected in the pay raise.

“And every federal and provincial decision can have an impact on us,” Hawa said. “Before we can react, we have to understand the file. I work 16-hour days some weeks. Do I have time to work another job? No. I suppose a mayor can choose to be removed from it all, but I don’t see how you can move a municipali­ty forward if you are not engaged.”

Hawa used the example of federal and provincial cannabis legislatio­n and how it will be up to the municipali­ties to react to the legislatio­n.

“Municipali­ties have a lot on their plates these days,” she said. “It’s never-ending, with details as far as you can see.”

Baie-D’Urfé Mayor Maria Tutino said that considerin­g the salary of the mayor of a small town like Baie-D’Urfé, is a delicate tightrope walk.

“You don’t want a salary that will attract someone who only wants the job for the pay,” she said. “But we have to look ahead. I am nearing retirement. The town will have to make the job attractive to someone, maybe someone young, with a family. What is fair pay?”

In 2013, the pay for the mayor of Baie-D’Urfé was set at $21,000, plus $10,500 for expenses. A councillor’s pay was set at $7,000 with a $3,500 expense allowance.

Tutino said what was once a part-time job taken on by citizens who wanted to give back to the community has turned into a full-time job, with mayors in the smaller towns putting in full-time hours wrangling with Montreal’s Agglomerat­ion Council in defence of the village, town or city they represent.

The mayor said she and council will study a fair pay raise, which will be included in the 2019 budget.

Beaconsfie­ld Mayor Georges Bourelle said council will be having a serious discussion about pay raises by the end of the year.

“On average, I put in a 50-hour week. It’s not a 9-to-5 job. It’s weekends and evenings as well. I am retired, so I have other sources of revenue, but if I was a young person who had to rely on the mayor’s income, I wouldn’t even consider doing this job,” Bourelle said.

Bourelle is currently paid $47,780 with a $16,595 expense allowance. Beaconsfie­ld councillor­s are paid $15,920 with an expense allowance of $7,960.

Hawa, Tutino and Bourelle all serve on Montreal Agglomerat­ion Council commission­s for which they are compensate­d.

Newspapers in English

Newspapers from Canada