PoCo council pondering whether to award themselves raises

Cassidy Olivier, The Province July 24, 2010
Port Coquitlam’s mayor and councillors will decide Monday whether to award themselves significant pay hikes of 27 and 42 per cent respectively to match the higher salaries being paid in neighbouring municipalities. The vote comes two weeks after the City of Burnaby made Mayor Derek Corrigan his region’s fourth best-paid mayor by increasing his $97,414 salary by 17 per cent to $114,031. Councillors were given a more modest bump to $44,017 from $43,298. If approved, Port Coquitlam Mayor Greg Moore will see his $67,277 annual salary jump 27 per cent to $85,418. City councillors, meanwhile, will see their salaries increase by 42 per cent, from $22,257 to $31,654. Also to be considered is a $5,723 annual transportation allowance for the mayor and one for the acting mayor, valued at $1,812. A transition allowance for mayors will also be proposed at the evening council meeting.

PoCo’s chief administrative officer, Tony Chong, said in a statement that the improving economy had prompted the city to revisit a 2009 report that found the city’s remuneration was well behind that in similar-sized municipalities. The proposed hikes were calculated by taking the average remuneration and benefits of the two cities with populations immediately above PoCo — Maple Ridge and New Westminster — and those immediately below — the City of North Vancouver and West Vancouver. “Now that the economy is starting to show signs of recovery, the city is revisiting the remuneration policy to address the growing financial gap and inequity in how Port Coquitlam’s council members are compensated for their service in the community,” said Chong.
Port Coquitlam councillor Michael Wright acknowledged Saturday the pay hikes would likely result in controversy. He said he regretted that the increases were so significant, and blamed council for not keeping abreast with the remuneration of similar-sized municipalities. “Had we kept up, the increase wouldn’t have been so much,” he said. “I know it is a big jump, I know there will be controversy, but it is a fair thing to do as far as members of council are concerned.”

Maureen Bader, the B.C. director of the Canadian Taxpayers Federation, said salaries paid to municipal councils will continue to spiral out of control unless the provincial government puts a cap on property tax rates. Without a cap, councils will continue to increase taxes arbitrarily to cover planned spending sprees and wage hikes, she explained, noting B.C.’s median family income is about $65,000. “It shows they are just completely out of touch with the reality of taxpaying families,” she said.