Citing a loss of a federal tax break, members of Chatham-Kent Council have voted to increase the pay for their respective positions.
During a meeting on Monday, council voted in favour of the honorarium raise 14-2 with Councillor Amy Finn and Councillor John Wright voting against it. The mayor's pay will go from $93,605 to $110,000 a year while pay for members of council will go from $27,000 a year to $32,000.
The increase will cost taxpayers $97,326 annually.
The pay increase was suggested by the Citizen Review Committee, a committee made up of neutral representatives from across the municipality. Cathy Hoffman, general manager of corporate services with Chatham-Kent, said the committee gathered data on how Chatham-Kent's councillor pay compares to other municipalities and used the average household income to help calculate the honorarium increase.
Although it may seem like councillors will be getting more money when the pay increase takes effect, many councillors made it known during the meeting, that is actually not the case due to a recent change to how their salaries are taxed by the government. As of January 1, 2019, the federal government eliminated all tax exemptions for municipal councillors. Previously, municipal councillors, including those in Chatham-Kent, were granted a tax exemption on one-third of their honorarium, a practice that had been in place for over 50 years.
Councillor Doug Sulman argued that by making that one-third taxable, councillors will actually be pocketing less.
"I think that's what the public ought to understand. I can tell you that the members of council that are sitting around here are going to get less in their pockets," said Sulman. "The amount that shows is going to go up, but the amount that's in your jeans, which is how people really measure things, is going to go down."
Councillor Mark Authier echoed Sullman's statements, arguing that councillors don't have expense accounts and that being a member of council often equates to working a minimum wage job.
"I was putting 40 hours into this job and I'm putting 50-60 hours into my other job, my businesses," Authier said. "I hope that people realize we aren't out trying to gouge the taxpayers."
According to Authier, councillors attend many more meetings behind the scenes than just standard city council meetings. He said they are also always on call, often times going above and beyond basic council duty to help members of the community.
"There's been times where I'm out at three in the morning helping neighbours with things. That's something I do, maybe not for council itself, but people know who I am and what I'm out there for and it is for the good of Chatham-Kent. So I hope everybody realizes this isn't a raise at all," said Authier.
Excluding the position of mayor, this will be the first time since 2004 that members of Chatham-Kent's council have received a raise.