Summerland council is going to be voting tonight on a pay raise for themselves, or whoever might be replacing them at the table after Oct. 20.
If approved, the Mayor’s pay will jump to $36,000 on Jan. 1, 2019, up from $28,843. Councilors will rise to $16,200 from $12,757.
“It is evident that the District of Summerland has fallen behind in remuneration of elected officials,” reads the report from the council remuneration committee, which compared council pay in 21 communities they deemed to be similar.
In the comparison cities, Powell River, with a population of 13,157, had the highest paid mayor at $48,500, with councillors getting $19,400.
At the other end of the scale, Grand Forks — population 4,049 — had the lowest band mayor at $24,000. Their councillors get $18,000.
The $36,000 figure the committee came up with for mayor is a little less than the average of the 22 cities, and the councillor rate is set at 45 per cent of the mayor’s pay.
The bylaw governing the pay received by Summerland’s councillors and the mayor hasn’t been updated since 2007. That bylaw covered three years, maxing out in 2009 at $26,000 for the mayor and $11,500 for council members.
But when it came back for review at a later date, that council chose not to increase their pay, so there have been no increases, other than a Consumer Price Index increase of about 1.5 per cent each year, since 2009.
The process of considering a pay rise actually started last year, when council directed a committee be formed to bring recommendations forward before this fall’s election. That didn’t happen until this August.
Steve Kidd Senior reporter, Penticton Western News Email me or message me on Facebook Follow us on Facebook | Twitter | Instagram
