East Gwillimbury council kicks salary debate until after election

Salary matter will be the first order of business: mayor

Yorkregion.com
September 13, 2018
Simon Martin

Last September East Gwillimbury council voted to add two more councillors and move to a ward system. It’s been close to a year since the decision was made, yet East Gwillimbury council has yet to set a salary for the new council composition.

On Sept. 5, council voted 3-2 to defer the matter until the 2018-2020 council. The two councillors who are not running for re-election this fall, James Young and Marlene Johnston voted against the motion. The deferral essentially ensures the current compensation level of $44,108 for councillors and just over $70,000 for the mayor remain intact until next council deals with the issue.

Mayor Virginia Hackson said the salary matter will be the first order of business next council. The mayor wants to strike an independent committee to look at the matter to help relieve the awkwardness council has in making a decision. “When something feels wrong, in my mind it is wrong,” she said.

Punting the contentious measure to next council didn’t sit well with Young or Johnston. “The numbers are not going to change,” Young said. He went on to add he thinks the problem is council doesn’t like what the numbers are telling them. “We started the process let’s finish it.”

“I don’t think it is appropriate for us to change direction in an application process,” Coun. Tara Roy-DiClemente said. Some candidates have reached out to her, voicing their discomfort with the process. “This should have been dealt with months ago,” she said.

If they are running because they wanted that salary it is terribly unfortunate, Johnson said.

“To me it is ludicrous to do this,” Coun. Joe Persenchini chimed in on changing the rules in the middle of the game. “That’s not how we run a business.”

The current East Gwillimbury salary of $44,108 is substantially more pay than councillors receive in similar sized municipalities in the area. Georgina councillors get paid $27,248 with no car allowance; King $26,948; Orillia $38,621; New Tecumseth $21,548; Bradford $20,410; Innisfil $21,170; Whitchurch-Stouffville $35,794. When looking at the northern six municipalities of York Region, East Gwillimbury councillors are the second highest paid next to Newmarket even though towns like Georgina, Aurora and Whitchurch-Stouffville have significantly larger populations. The average councillor salary in the northern six is $35,468.

In staff’s original report on the matter in May, they used different comparator groups that included municipalities with a far larger population. Even though one of the comparator groups included towns with a much larger population than East Gwillimbury (32,000) including Richmond Hill (195,022), Newmarket (84,224), Aurora (55,445), Caledon (66,502), Halton Hills (61,161) and Milton (110,128), East Gwillimbury’s councillor salary was slightly higher than the average of the group. Council asked staff to come back with numbers where ward sizes were similar.

“I don’t think it is right,” Young said of the current pay level. With two additional councillors coming on board this fall, Young said the workload will be dramatically reduced.  

The difference in East Gwillimbury as compared to other municipalities on the list according to Hackson is the town is growing at a faster rate.