Revelstoke, B.C., city councillor resigns in protest over pay raises

A city councillor in Revelstoke resigned in protest this week after failing to stop pay raises for the city’s politicians.

During a meeting on Tuesday, Jan. 21, councillor Steven Cross tabled a motion for council to remove the raises from the city’s budget, and suggested the money instead go towards infrastructure spending and road projects.

When Mayor Gary Sulz asked who was in favour, just one councillor, Mike Brooks-Hill, supported Cross’s motion.

The pay raises stem from a proposal made late in 2019. Cross said the motion will amount to a pay raise of 134 per cent for the mayor and 67 per cent for councilors.

“I just believe that with the revenue hole, with the number of things that are facing us, we should maybe slow down this process,” said Cross.

Cross added, “I think the community would really respect us and admire our leadership on this if we put the money that we’ve already voted for ourselves back into the budget we need to have.”

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Brooks-Hill proposed an amendment, asking that the raises be deferred until the 2021 budget, stating, “this year, we’re facing a steep shortfall and I really feel strongly that this year is not the year to do it.”

Prior to the vote, councillor Nicole Cherlet said, “to move this money towards paving would be a drop in the bucket, that it’s not going to accomplish a noticeable increase in our paving, where we’re making some really good headway in council remuneration.”

Cherlet said the raise would “bring us back up to par, not give us a huge amount of a raise.”

Councillor Cody Younker said not only do many municipalities have higher salaries for their council members, but that those councillors also receive added allowances for associated costs such as travel fees and meals.

When Sulz asked who supported Cross’s motion to forego the raises, the vote was defeated 3-2.

Following the vote, Cross tendered his resignation and read it aloud at the meeting.

“Mayor and fellow councilors. I am resigning from this council . . . for the following reasons,” he said.

“Approving pay raises of 134 per cent for the mayor and 67 per cent for councilors in a budget year where the town has a $500,000 revenue hole to deal with, and our roads are a mess is a choice of self-interest over mission of service to our community.

“I can’t support that.”

To view the meeting, click here.

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