You will get what you pay for

Four years ago in Ontario, 6,658 candidates put their names forward for 2,864 seats on local councils. It’s safe to assume a similar number will do so again, but that also begs the question about how many considered running for office but opted against it.

One of the main impediments to getting new representation on council is the structure of the job itself. The first is the formal component, namely council and committee meetings.

The informal component is mostly social and involves attending community events and celebrations. Between those two responsibilities, the job can be exhausting. It’s made even more exhausting if you have a family or another career. It might surprise many to find out that municipal councillors aren’t well-compensated.

In 2017, the Association of Municipal Managers, Clerks and Treasurers of Ontario conducted a survey requesting information on compensation.

In many municipalities councillors are considered part-time and paid as such. A Only 42 per cent of council members are salaried, with the rest garnering a stipend or honorarium.

The levels of compensation vary considerably. Most members of council are paid less than $40,000. Those representing municipalities of 100,000 to 250,000 reported taking home an average $35,442 in salary. Those of more than 250,000 people earned an average of $75,085. In Toronto — Canada’s largest and most expensive city — councillors are paid $120,502.

In exchange, councillors are expected to work though council meetings that are often several hours in length, serve on several committees, respond to constituents in a timely manner, sit in on various hearings and tribunals, be available for media requests and review relevant reports and information presented by staff.

The picture painted so far is a bit grim — loads of work, low pay and constant stress. Nonetheless, those 6,658 people thought the job was good enough to apply for it during the 2018 election season.

Clearly, the job is appealing to enough people. If we dig a bit deeper, however, we find some signs of trouble.

Four hundred and seventy-four candidates were acclaimed in 2018. Only 27 per cent of all candidates were women.

In 2016, the Rural Ontario Institute found that 75 per cent of councillors were men, the median age was 60 in rural communities and 61 in urban areas.

Only two per cent of those on rural councils self-identified as a racialized minority. Municipal councils tend to be older, male and white, making them largely unrepresentative of the communities they serve.

How do we make councils more representative? Increasing councillor pay would be a good place to start.

Attracting new voices means paying more. Not only would it recognize the amount of work they do, but it would permit some to justify putting their careers on hold or allow them to organize existing work commitments so they can serve their community. It would also help ensure local councils truly reflect the population.