Victoria councillors will be receiving a roughly 25 per cent increase in their remuneration, acting on feedback provided in the MNP report.
Prior to the last election, council hired MNP LLP to conduct a review of governance policies. One of the recommendations was for the previous council to maintain is remuneration levels, but to implement a pay raise for the incoming (now current) council starting in January 2023.
The previous council did not complete the work on new remuneration levels, or other recommendations in the MNP report, so early on in the current council’s tenure, staff were directed to work towards implementing all 30 recommendations.
At the March 14 committee of the whole and council meetings, staff came back with a report on median remuneration packages for 11 B.C. and seven Canadian cities.
The report staff presented showed that the mayor and councillor salaries were below the median of the 18 compared cities.
The report found that the mayor and councillor remuneration was below the median of those cities.
Story continues below
Victoria’s council remuneration bylaw dictates mayor and councillor salaries should increase in line with the Consumer Price Index annually.
As a result, a decision was made in a 5-3 vote to increase councillor remuneration from $52,420 to $65,525, which is 50 per cent of the mayor’s pay.
Victoria councillor Krista Loughton said the raise overdue. “I think people need to understand that council’s should be required to review remuneration every term. And again, this hasn’t been done since 2008. And it makes things awkward. But we can’t go forward working full-time at part-time rates.”
The raise is the equivalent to a 0.06 per cent tax increase, according to the Victoria media relations manager.
But Marianne Alto, Victoria Mayor, said councillors should not be voting to give themselves pay raises. “Whatever you think of the raise itself, it’s been my position consistently that no individual or body should be able to have the authority to raise its own wages.”
The pay increase is set to increase on May 1, or when the final bylaw is adopted, whichever comes first.
Additionally, council directed staff to report back within three months on improved benefits for the council.
Mayor Marianne Alto and Couns. Stephen Hammond and Marg Gardiner voted against the motion. Coun. Chris Coleman was absent for the meeting and the remaining councillors voted in favour of the increase.
Laura Brougham
