Updated 5/22/2019
Council voted at the Regular Council meeting on 5/21/2019 not to increase their salaries passed at the previous week’s Committee of the Whole. Councillors Beatty, Burchat and Mayor Henderson reversed their yes vote and voted no. The motion was defeated 4-3.
On May 13, 2019 at the Committee of the Whole Council meeting, Paul Pagnuelo made a presentation to Council on behalf of the Cobourg Taxpayers Association (CTA) to make the case that Council continues to be underpaid. The CTA is in favour of a prudent and responsible increase that recognizes the value of the work that Council does.
It does not serve the interests of democracy by erecting financial barriers that limits the pool of candidates to those who are independently wealthy and retired.
Council remuneration should be at an adequate level to attract and retain a mix of working, self-employed and retired residents.
Making a decision to pay Councillors what they deserve may not be popular in some quarters. However, it is the right thing to do.
Without our elected members, Town business would come to a screeching halt.
It is wrong, in so many ways, when our Council are for the most part some of our lowest paid employees.
From a taxpayers’ perspective, it really comes down to asking ourselves how we would want to be treated if we were sitting in your shoes.
The answer is fairly.
The full presentation can be viewed here:
Council Compensation – Making the Case for Fair Pay
You can also read about the presentation on:
Council did listen and although they did not accept the CTA’s full proposed increase, they did approve an increase for January 1, 2020. The salary increase will be part of the 2020 budget cycle, allowing for the public to provide feedback.
