Councillors paid enough

City councillors accept citizens’ committee report calling for council to be paid the same rate

City councillors have approved a review of their pay that found that they get paid enough – at $27,720 annually – and that they don’t need a raise.

Last year, council asked that a citizens’ committee be formed to determine whether the pay for council is sufficient.

On Monday night, councillors adopted the report, which states they shouldn’t get a raise.

But their pay should increase at the rate of inflation, the report recommends, and there should be an automatic review of council’s pay during the second year of every term.

If a pay raise is approved following a review, it won’t apply until the next council is elected (meaning a council will not vote in a raise for itself ).

Over the last year, councillors were interviewed by the committee about their pay – and whether they think it’s fair.

Garth Wedlock, chairman of the committee, said at the meeting on Monday that most of councillors said they were in it mostly for community service – not for the pay.

“The prevailing sentiment wasn’t, ‘We should be paid more.’ Rather, it was a feeling of commitment to service,” Wedlock said.

The only councillor who has consistently said he’s underpaid, Coun. Keith Riel, wasn’t at the meeting Monday.

Councillors were sitting as committee of the whole when they approved the report, meaning it still must be ratified at a forthcoming city council meeting.

Coun. Henry Clarke said he was happy to accept the recommendation of no pay raise.

“I think it’s fair to both councillors and taxpayers,” he said.

But Coun. Lesley Parnell said she would have liked benefits for city councillors.

“We’re the only 10 people who work for the entire corporation of the City of Peterborough who don’t get benefits,” she said.

“There is a gender inequality within politics, overall - less women are in politics, less women have access to benefits,” Parnell added.

Meanwhile the committee surveyed eight other Ontairo municipalities – all of them offer benefits to councillors.

The committee didn’t recommend it in Peterborough, though, because the average household income in Peterborough is somewhat low at $60,400 - and many citizens who work full-time don’t receive benefits.

Coun. Diane Therrien, who asked for the review a year ago, said that the fact no women applied to sit on the citizens’ review committee shouldn’t indicate that women aren’t engaged in civic life.

That’s not correct, she said – women want to be involved, and she said she hopes they will continue to get increasingly involved “in every aspect of civic life.”

NOTE: See more city council coverage on Pages A1 and A2.