Wilmot council remuneration policy outlines process for regular review of council pay

Galen Simmons, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

After direction was brought forward by Wilmot Mayor Natasha Salonen earlier this year to have staff bring forward a policy outlining the process for a regular review of council pay, staff recently presented that policy to township council for feedback before it is officially approved.

At the Nov. 4 Wilmot committee of the whole meeting, township CAO Jeff Willmer presented the proposed council remuneration policy for feedback and consideration. If approved, the proposed policy would see a regular review of council pay conducted once during every four-year term of council.

“I want to be clear that this is about the process, not about the outcomes of those reviews,” Willmer said. “In that process, there would be a review cycle set so it’s once per council term and that would be required to happen during the fourth year with any changes that council approves taking effect at the beginning of the next term of council.

“So, in the third year of council’s term, you would determine the review method – the three different options are set out in the (policy) – and there would be benchmarking from at least five comparable municipalities, and then there are guiding principles for the review, which are also set out in the policy, and any changes that are decided on should take place prior to the beginning of the nomination period for the next election.”

According to the proposed policy, reviews could either be conducted by a citizen review committee, an independent review consultant or by township administration staff. Each review will include information on council pay form five similarly sized and structured municipalities, and the reviews will assess base salary, allowances, benefits and relevant policies to ensure remuneration remains fair and competitive.

The guiding principles for remuneration reviews are as follows:

A review is fair and reasonable and will attract a diverse and representative pool of candidates wishing to seek election to council, but also be seen as fair by taxpayers;

It recognizes the work of the mayor and council is demanding and important and, as such, they should be appropriately compensated;

It recognizes the complexity, responsibilities, time commitments and accountabilities associated with the role of mayor and council; and,

It demonstrates fiscal responsibility and aligns to the strategic priorities for the Township of Wilmot.

“Overall, I agree with the policy,” Coun. Kris Wilkinson. “I think it’s interesting, the suggestions in terms of the bodies for review. Particularly what stands out is potentially having an independent citizens group make the recommendations, which I think makes a lot of sense.

“The one point I was sort of thinking out loud about and will sort of make a case for right now; is once per term sufficient? I’m wondering if this should be a biennial process where every two years, you’re seeing a review, and perhaps not always by the same body. It might be an independent study or staff review, and then two years later, a citizen review, so on and so forth.”

By way of response, Willmer told councillors remuneration reviews of council conducted in the middle of a council term often do not result in any changes to council pay, primarily because of the potential negative perception by the public that council is approving a pay raise for itself. The CAO also noted that council has the opportunity to consider and approve cost of living increases for itself annually, giving councillors and the mayor some wiggle room to increase their pay if deemed necessary.

Salonen, meanwhile, pointed out that conducting a review of council pay every two years could become expensive and time consuming for staff.

The mayor also suggested adjusting the policy to have a review of council pay conducted in the third year of a council term instead of the fourth year so any changes in remuneration could be included in the next year’s draft budget. Since the swearing in of a new council happens in the November after an October municipal election, Salonen said the new pay rate should be included in that year’s budget.

However, Coun. Stewart Cressman pointed out that, based on his recollection, council isn’t paid until January of the following year after a municipal election, which would mean the new pay rate wouldn’t need to be included in the budget for the final year of the previous term of council.

Salonen asked staff to confirm if that is the case when the policy is brought forward for final approval at the next council meeting.