North Bay councillor Mike Anthony says he has a message for fellow councillors, "Let me be clear, I believe this is absolutely not the time to be discussing pay increases for council".
"With another 158 hospital jobs lost, some mining sector layoffs, some other businesses feeling a soft economy, a national recession as declared by Stats-Canada, and a BIG chunk of our citizens struggling....I just do not believe this this is the time to talk about this."
Anthony's message comes after talk that the pay does not match the effort that is required for the job.
The last big raise for council was in 2000, when councillors went from $9,000 to $16,000 and $36,000 to $50,000 for the mayor.
"In reality, while that was the last big one, we've had a raise every single year," explained Anthony.
Council has been getting yearly increases based on the Consumer Price Index.
The Consumer Price Index (CPI) is an indicator of changes in consumer prices experienced by Canadians. It is obtained by comparing, over time, the cost of a fixed basket of goods and services purchased by consumers.
The latest CPI is 1.3 percent so each councillor would get an extra $250 a year, while the mayor's salary would rise by about $775 this year.
Right now, pay for the mayor is just under $60,000 while each councillor gets just over $19,000.
Anthony says he froze his pay in 2012 and again in 2014 for this term.
"It's a small amount, but if I'm pushing for restraint with things like fire, police, city hall overtime, trying to cut back in taxes, I thought it prudent that I'm also showing that I'm willing to tighten my own belt."
Anthony says he's heard a couple of fellow councillors talking about a pay raise (above the annual CPI raise).
"If that's their belief, I respect that. I just 100 percent do not believe it is the time to be looking at anything like that."
By comparison, and these are 2011 figures on the city's website, the Sudbury (pop 160,000) mayor is paid $109,534 per annum plus a vehicle allowance of $700 per month.
Sudbury councillors are paid $32,468 per annum.
In Sault Ste. Marie, with a population of 75,000, the mayor currently is paid $70,756 with a monthly car allowance of $386 per month. Councillors get $22,738 and also get a car allowance of $214 per month.
And in Timmins (pop 43,165), the mayor’s salary is $67,831 annually and councillors $18,618.
