Calgary city council taking a pay cut in 2017

Calgary city councillor Sean Chu calls it leading by example.

While many Calgarians have seen their income shrink during the economic downturn in the city, members of council will now also take a hit in the wallet.

Three councillors have tweeted that the memo on the 2017 salary adjustment came out yesterday (Wednesday).

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READ MORE: 3.8% pay hike for Calgary city council

The memo says council salaries will go down 2.49 per cent in the new year.

Brian Pincott tweets the cut shows why it’s important councillors not set their own salaries.

READ MORE: Calgary maintains highest unemployment rate in Canada for 5th straight month

Council pay is adjusted automatically at the start of each year based on Statistics Canada’s average weekly earnings in the province.

Councillors currently make more than $116,000 while the mayor makes just over $218,000 a year.