ISSUES: Next Newmarket council tasked with pay deep-dive

Town due to make market comparison on council pay, which has risen with inflation over past term

Newmarkettoday.ca
Oct. 14, 2022
Joseph Quigley

It will be up to Newmarket’s next council to critically examine how they are paid versus comparable municipalities.

The town is preparing to do another market comparison for salaries in the new term, including council remuneration. The review -- the first since 2017 -- will examine the town in relation to similar municipalities, such as Aurora, Markham, Richmond Hill and Barrie.

Council pay has risen based on the market over the years, including a pay bump at the end of 2021, though the overall cost of council dipped during the pandemic due to travel restrictions. The town offers more council pay to its councillors than some neighbours, though falls short of more southern neighbours like Markham and Richmond Hill.

“At this time, the Town of Newmarket is once again gathering data from our municipal comparators,” the municipality said. “We anticipate a report will go forward to council in 2023.”

Although the town will adjust its council remuneration annually, a market comparison is supposed to happen every fourth year. The policy is scheduled for year four of a four-year term of council, but the town will not meet that this year, with the last comparison provided in November 2017.

Newmarket councillors currently have a base pay of $52,192, bumped up by about $1,000 at the end of last year, plus more than $20,000 in benefits. The deputy mayor’s base pay is $58,448, and the mayor’s is $101,067. Both mayor and deputy mayor also get an additional $59,338 base pay from the region.

But how does that stack up to Newmarket’s comparable municipalities?

In 2017, the market report found the town remunerated above the policy line, with a recommendation to have increases at only about half the annual market adjustment to allow the market to catch up. Comparables included Aurora, Markham, Richmond Hill, and Barrie, among eight other municipalities.

Here is what they are paying their councils today:

Newmarket
Councillor base pay: $51,173

Mayor base pay: $101,067

Aurora
Councillor base pay: $40,474

Mayor base pay: $110,048

Markham
Councillor base pay: $89,198

Mayor base pay: $193,977

Richmond Hill
Councillor base pay: $82,581

Mayor base pay: $137,638

Barrie 
Councillor base pay: $40,983

Mayor: $127,172

Newmarket currently pays its ward councillors as part-time positions, while the mayor and deputy mayor are full-time positions. It pays councillors more than Aurora and Barrie, but less than Markham or Richmond Hill.

Taxes and fiscal management have been rated as a top issue in this year’s election, according to respondents to a NewmarketToday poll. Meanwhile, the town is bracing itself for inflation to impact the next budget.

To see where the incumbents and candidates stand on the issue of council pay before you vote, check out the candidate questionnaires on NewmarketToday's municipal election page -- for those candidates who have responded to date, that is.

In 2021, council cost taxpayers $763,413, including expenses for councillors, plus salaries and benefits. That figure has not fully reached pre-pandemic levels, with council costing $768,484 in 2019. Figures for 2022 will be released next year.