Vancouver city councillors say they are doing an above average amount of work with more phone calls and e-mails than ever before – and want a raise to go with it.
The city has commissioned a study to determine whether the current formula – tying city council wages with that of the average Vancouver earner – should be replaced with a new system.
“If a raise is appropriate,” said Vision Vancouver Councillor Geoff Meggs, “I'll take a raise but we're going to ask an independent third-party to take a look at the new duties that are emerging at Council and some of the pressures to see if whether a change is warranted.”
At the moment Vancouver councillors earn $67,994 per year, which is more than the $67,500 Surrey city councilors get paid, or the $55,000 Richmond councilors make.
But it pales in comparison to the $105,000 that Toronto representatives make, and is 70 per cent less than the $115,000 Calgary councilors make.
Any councillor filling in as deputy mayor adds $2,830 to their salary, but there are new duties associated with the post, which is now held by Vision’s Andrea Reimer.
“The main trigger for this is that council in December decided to change the duties of deputy mayor,” Meggs added,” which up to that point had been a rotation of councillors in a protocol role when the mayor was busy.”
The mayor, who makes $154,347 per year, also gets paid less than Calgary’s Naheed Nenshi, who makes $216,380.
Council will get an outside investigator to re-examine the pay structure.
One NPA councillor says his pay is adequate.
“I feel this is a sort of Vision vanity project for a couple of councillors that they’ve provided them with titles that they go to hold all the time and I don’t think that’s appropriate,” said Coun. George Affleck.
The reviewer will not look at salaries they earn as members of other government bodies such as Metro Vancouver or the Union of BC Municipalities.
Raymond Louie is a vice-chair of Metro Vancouver, which comes with a $35,000 stipend. Gregor Robertson is chair of the Mayors’ Council and therefore a member of the Translink Board, which could pay him as much as $30,000 more.
The review will also look at whether councillors could use more staff to help them with their constituency work.
“Right now as councillors, we share staff and those staff are not allowed to do any direct correspondence in that way in support of any councillor in answering the kinds of questions that come forward,” said Green Party Councillor Adriane Carr.
“I get the phone calls from people who say ‘Why is no one answering my questions? Why is nobody getting back to me? And that’s what I want to address,” she added.
It is a similar case for park board commissioners who make significantly less than city councillors—$8,000 per year with the chair taking home $10,000.
Staff will hire the independent reviewer in the coming months and that person is expected to report back to council in June.
With files from CTV’s Nafeesa Karim and Jon Woodward
