Central Saanich council set to approve a 70% wage increase
Did you hike your own salary by 37 per cent this year? How about 70 per cent?
Central Saanich council did just that on Feb. 21 with a motion to increase the mayor’s salary by 37 per cent and councillor’s salary by 70 per cent. It passed at committee-of-the-whole with Couns. Zeb King and Gord Newton opposing the motion.
It’s expected a remuneration bylaw will come before council in March.If approved the mayor’s pay will jump to about $66,700 and councillors $30,800, and then will be adjusted annually by the Consumer Price Index (CPI) for Victoria during the subsequent three years.
Municipal watchdog Grumpy Taxpayer$ is questioning whether huge wage increases are affordable for taxpayers and defensible during tough economic times.
“Councils shouldn’t be increasing their own wages,”says John Treleaven, chair of Grumpy Taxpayer$. “This pay increase should have been brought up and defended by the last council to take effect with a new council.”
A staff report looked at 16 comparators with populations between 14-28,000. Council pay is set at the median and it uses some service parameters, such as budget, police and recreation.
“There are no comparables that bear any relationship to council’s wages. Central Saanich council has to make a decision and defend any pay increase to its ratepayers, not to the voters of Sidney nor Victoria.”
Central Saanich has a budget of $27.2 million and a population of about 18,689.
In difficult inflationary times with great economic uncertainty, this motion sends an unhelpful message to citizens, says Treleaven.
Discussion around the wage increase was terrible due to technical issues during the broadcast. Staff apologized and says the problems are being resolved.
The middle class will continue to be victimized as they stand-in-line in support of the politicians they vote for . . . and get stabbed in the back by them . . . repeatedly.
Increases in compensation for council must, in my opinion, be brought forward and be voted on by members of the public who are served by these councils. There is no reason that they should be able to set and vote on their own salary increases. Can you imagine this kind of stuff being acceptable in a private enterprise setting? It is self-serving, dishonest and should never be permitted.
My wife and I jokingly call our comfortable home here in lovely Central Saanich, “Sleepy Hollow” . We’ll… snooze you lose. Do the Mayor and the majority of the members of Central Saanich Council think we all just won the lottery?
Two members of CS council seem to have a connection with fiscal reality. Voters, take note!
Where is the possible justification for such an enormous increase in remuneration?
Huge infrastructure projects? Tremendous and unforeseen population increase? Global warming? What?
This a unique municipality. A rare mix of farmland, residential,commercial,and industrial uses.
We are not growing like Victoria or Langford or Colwood…We’re growing like hay and corn and carrots and strawberries… slow and sure.
Much respect to Tsawout and Tsartlip.