Lambton County councillors will get a pay raise when they take office after this month's municipal elections.
Effective December 1, the warden's base salary will increase by almost $10,000 to just under $75,000, and the deputy warden will receive a new flat annual salary of almost $35,000 -- $12,000 more than what councillors will be paid.
Warwick Township Mayor Todd Case said the increases are to counteract the federal government's decision to end the one-third tax exempt rule for municipal politicians on January 1.
"What staff did is basically work in what you used to save in that reduction back into the wage," said Case. "I'm not coming back. This doesn't affect me a bit. But, it seemed like something very reasonable to me and the only thing I changed in the recommendation was putting a value on what the deputy warden does. It's a large county, it's busy and I thought it was important to recognize that."
The new annual county councillor salary of nearly $23,000 is up from last year's base honorarium of just over $13,000 plus $133 for every county related meeting they attended.
County council voted Wednesday to end the practice of meeting pay as of November 30.