Citizen’s Task Force on Remuneration recommends mayor’s salary also be ‘realigned as soon as practicable’
Hard-pressed taxpayers are in for an unpleasant shock when they learn the Council Remuneration Task Force is recommending a small pay hike for the current council followed by a much larger increase in the next term.
The small, three-person Task Force was widely criticized by many for the appearance of conflict of interest and limited diversity. Members were thought to only represent unions, indigenous and local government – and not residential or commercial interests. Its recommendations will be discussed at council on Thursday just prior to council heading off on a summer break.
“Why are task force members being so generous with our taxpayer dollars for what is a part-time job?” asks Stan Bartlett, vice chair of Grumpy Taxpayer$.
“Very few of us look forward to a total wage increase of at least 16.5 %, which is even more if the mayor’s salary is hiked in 2026 or thereafter.”
These pay hike recommendations are excessive and unjustified when compared to other cities in the province and other Canadian capitals.
“The wages are pretty sweet considering the task force found it couldn’t establish if the role of councillor was a full-time job,” says Bartlett.
Just add up some of these pay hike recommendations:
- After the next election, councillor remuneration will no longer be based on 40% of the mayor’s salary but hiked to 45%. As a result every time the mayor’s salary increases, council will also get an even greater increase. According to the Drive Report that 45% calculation would put it the highest percentage of every major city in BC.
- So if the pay recommendation for councillors is adopted, council pay will increase 12.5% to nearly $60,000. That would put Victoria councillor base pay more than the median of BC cities, all-cities and all non-BC cities surveyed by the Drive Report on city remuneration.
- Retroactive to Jan. 1, 2024, a CPI adjustment of about 4% in 2021 will be added to the Mayor and councillors’ salary. If this wage increase was willingly foregone during COVID, why would it now be paid out without any explanation or justification?
- The 2008 annual cost of living adjustment would continue to be applied in the next two years and beyond. It’s running at 2.7% in 2024 year-over-year.
- The Mayor’s compensation of $156,432 (includes the CRD) should be realigned against Canadian capital cities. If that happens in 2026 as recommended, council may also get another mandatory pay increase applied to all of the above hikes.
Councillor Remuneration Excessive
It’s important to mention, several City of Victoria councillors are also paid almost $24,000 for sitting on the CRD board and receive some top-ups for sitting on various other local entities.
Again, the Task Force was unable to establish if the role of councillor was full-time. It also did not acknowledge council are now spending less time in evening meetings after some housing-related workload was transferred to staff.
Hiking the Mayor’s Salary Unjustified
The Drive Report looked at seven capital cities in Canada none of which are simply not valid comparables, says Bartlett.
Five of the other capitals are much larger than Victoria (population 100,000) and two are much smaller (Table 1, page 5). Nonetheless, they calculated an annual base salary for mayors of $144,800 and an average of $147,600.
The Victoria mayor has a base pay of $133,147, but she also receives $23,385 annually as a top-up for sitting on the CRD. The CRD is a second level of government unique to the South Island.
Although more than double the population of Victoria, the total pay of $156,432 is about the same as the mayor of Regina (population 226,000) and more than the mayor of St. John’s (population 212,000). Both, of course, are also provincial capitals.
The next municipal election is in the fall of 2026.
READ MORE
Elected Officials Remuneration Report by Drive Organizational Development, City of Victoria, Feb. 2024.
Council Remuneration Task Force, City of Victoria (Item F. 1), July 25, 2024.
Is there any evidence justifying full-time councillors? Times Colonist Commentary, June 10, 2024.
Is the fix in on council pay? Grumpy Taxpayers Commentary, June 25, 2024.
Victoria is not much more than a one horse town…the cost to administer it is absurd. Easy to see why many people who have moved here have subsequently left. The cabal of incompetents who have provided us with the Pandora sewer continue to gorge themselves. Are there any incumbents that deserve reelection? Probably not. This association should organize itself to ensure no incumbents are reelected. It is a mystery to me how financial illiteracy seems to be so highly valued in this province and in this city.
As Will Rogers said “There is nothing common about common sense”.