Councillors already among highest-paid

Re: “Victoria councillors seek taxpayers’ support for 50 per cent pay hike,” Nov. 15.

Victoria city councillors need to get a grip on reality and a better understanding of their role and function before asking for a 50-plus per cent increase in salary.

I did some basic research into other Canadian municipalities, which shows Victoria city councillors are already among the highest-paid councillors in the country based on the number of citizens served.

The councillor-salary cost to taxpayers is $4.19 per citizen. Raising their salaries to $70,000 a year would equate to $6.51 for every citizen served, or almost 2.5 times the cost in most other municipalities, and five times the cost in Calgary, for example.

If councillors want a full-time salary, perhaps the number of councillors should be reduced. Another option would be to add more councillors at a lesser salary so they could maintain another job and this role could be truly part-time.

What is likely more necessary though, is to perform an audit and review of councillor functions to ensure they are focusing on the key responsibilities of their role, rather than working on their own pet projects.

Council is charged with a wide range of responsibilities, such as taxation, budgeting, municipal planning, development, parks and the provision of local public services. Councillors spending their time and effort on their own interests or activism areas, then asking the taxpayers to pay for it, should not be tolerated.

Bernadett Maxwell Victoria