King councillor salaries some of lowest in York Region

yorkregion.com
April 25, 2017
By Simon Martin

King Township taxpayers are getting a relative bargain when it comes to councillor salaries. The 2016 remuneration and expense report came out at council on April 24 and showed that councillors in King make a great deal less than councillors in East Gwillimbury. East Gwillimbury is the only municipality in York Region with similar population levels to King.

According to the latest information available on the various town websites, Newmarket leads the way with a councillor salary of $48,655 per year, followed by East Gwillimbury at $43,800, Whitchurch-Stouffville at $34,322, Aurora at $28,611, King at $26,123 and Georgina at $25,547.

The data leads to some interesting questions, such as why does a King councillor get paid almost $20,000 less than one in East Gwillimbury?

Ward 6 Coun. Avia Eek believes councillors in King are underpaid for the work they are doing. “For what we do and responsibilities we have, we really don’t get paid enough,” she said. While she didn’t get into politics for money, she still thinks the compensation level isn’t the most fair. 

Ward 5 Coun. Debbie Schaefer said the current pay level restricts the field of candidates. “I think there is an argument that it should be somewhat higher,” she said. At the same time, it’s not an issue that Schaefer is bending over backwards to rectify.

When York University political science professor Robert MacDermid learned the councillor salaries of northern York Region, one thing stood out. “They are appallingly low. You get what you pay for,” he said. “I think most voters have no clue what politicians are getting paid.”

The wage gap in council chambers is easy to see. The chief administrative officer earning $200,000 is supposed to answer to the councillor earning $25,000, but the salaries seem to suggest the opposite happens, MacDermid said. “It’s a small part of devaluing democracy,” he said.

According to the staff report, Mayor Steve Pellegrini hauled in $47,454.74 from the township in 2016. Ward 1 Coun. Cleve Mortelliti and Schaefer each got $26,361.29. Ward 2 Coun. David Boyd received $26,220.79. Ward 3 Coun. Linda Pabst got $26,431.54. Ward 4 Coun. Bill Cober received $26,360.43 and Eek got $26,572.04.