Councillors could be giving themselves a pay raise next week

Watch video above: Councillors could be giving themselves a pay raise next week. Jackson Proskow reports. 

TORONTO – City councillors could be giving themselves a major pay raise next week.

The city report to be presented at the executive committee April 23 is recommending two options which would hike the salaries of city councillors and the mayor effective Jan. 1, 2015.

The first would be to allow a 12.9 per cent pay increase to councillors from the current $105,397 to $119,025. The mayor’s salary would also jump 12.7 per cent from $177,499 to $200,013.

A consulting study completed in March compared Toronto’s city councillors’ pay to those in other regions.

Peel Region councillors can earn up to $133,078 while those in Markham get $122,908.

At least one Toronto city councillor isn’t concerned about how much he gets paid. Councillor Gord Perks told reporters Wednesday he was “indifferent” to the report and doesn’t expect it to get to city council, suggesting executive committee members would defer it indefinitely.

But he said, most councillors aren’t at city hall for the salary.

“Most of us are here because we’re committed to public service. It’s not the dollars that bring me here, it’s a commitment to the future of the city,” he said.

And councillor Denzil Minnan-Wong suggested any councillor seeking a pay raise may seen the decision backfire come October 27.

“There really is never a good time to seek a pay raise. Now is not a particularly good one either. We’ve asked our public service to make a certain level of sacrifice through our negotiated collective agreements and I suspect those that support a substantial salary increase may not be around to enjoy it.”

The Toronto staff reports says the remuneration by-law “sets the benchmark for Councillors and the Mayor’s compensation at the 75th percentile of the comparator group.”

Councillors are now at the 37th percentile and the mayor at the 61st percentile compared to Canada’s other big cities.

The second recommendation would have their annual pay increased based on the Consumer Price Index which would be around 2 per cent.

Council is required to establish the new rate following the end of each four year term. In past years, councillors have voted against a pay increase.

If the report is approved by the executive committee, a vote will then head to city council May 6.