Penetang council pay hikes ‘responsible from a fiduciary responsibility’
By: Derek Howard, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Source: MidlandToday.ca, Nov 14, 2024
Mayor Doug Rawson anticipated that some Penetanguishene residents would raise eyebrows to council voting themselves a pay raise. “I can appreciate this will hit some people with a certain degree of suspicion,” said Rawson during last night’s committee of the whole meeting, where a council legislated compensation review report recommended pay increases for the town’s politicians.
According to the report, Mayor Rawson currently takes in roughly $41,900 annually; Deputy Mayor Dan La Rose receives just under $30,800; and five council members each get over $23,700. As per the Municipal Act, the council remuneration bylaw states that a review should occur and be updated with each term of council, with an additional Penetanguishene bylaw stating it should be reviewed during the last 12 months of each term. However, the 2022 remuneration didn’t happen resulting in council remuneration remaining at 2020 levels, and putting pay below the 55th percentile of 10 municipal comparators in proximity to the town, including those immediate to north Simcoe but extending as far as Gravenhurst and Meaford. “We’ve had some transition with staff,” explained CAO Jeff Lees. “As we move forward, we’ve had some conversation about how we’re going to mitigate the chance of that happening again, because we recognize that ideally this should have been brought prior to now.”
To ra. ise Penetanguishene to the 55th percentile of remuneration: the mayor would receive over $46,800 for a near $4,900 annual impact; the deputy mayor would raise to over $32,200 for just under $1,500 increase; and councillors would get roughly $27,400 at an almost $3,700 hike to their annual pay.
Options in the report included when the nearly $12,400 increase to remuneration would come into effect, with council siding with the staff recommendation of July 1, 2024. Funding would be through a 2024 budget allocation, the working fund reserve, and/or the year-end surplus as required. Rawson also noted that Simcoe County councillors had voted to give themselves a raise to the 60th percentile for a county comparator group in October, which was reflected in the Penetanguishene report as town staff looked into council remuneration also in October.
Coun. Suzanne Marchand, chair of the finance and corporate services section, stated that good discussion was held at the section meeting. “The recommendation that’s being proposed is one that’s responsible from a fiduciary responsibility and perspective.”
Coun. George Vadeboncoeur praised the report’s clarity. “I think transparency’s important, and I think that report lays it all out if people take the opportunity to read it.”
The matter will be brought to an upcoming regular meeting of council for possible discussion and/or ratification.
The council legislated compensation review report can be located on the agenda page of the Town of Penetanguishene website.
Meetings of Penetanguishene council are held on the second Wednesday of each month, and can be watched live on Rogers TV cable 53 when available, or on the Rogers TV website.
Archives of council meetings are located on the Town of Penetanguishene YouTube channel.