Mountain View County's remuneration committee has made a number of recommendations regarding councillor compensation.
The committee, appointed by county council, is made up of Donna McArthur, Lorne Unger and William Stevenson.
During the May 1 policies and priorities committee meeting, Stevenson presented a report prepared following meetings held on Jan. 22 and March 15 to review council remuneration and compensation, as well as several related policies.
The committee looked at three policies and procedures in preparing the report: policy #1003 councillor attendance and development sessions; policy #1001 mileage rates policy; and policy #2006 fitness and health allowance.
The committee has made eight recommendations, including the following:
• The committee recommends that MVC keep the existing style of compensation established by procedure #1004.01. “The committee is of the opinion that the ‘basic rate' established is appropriate for the regular duties of a councillor elected to represent their division. The committee also supports the use of the ‘per diem' rate to encourage and reward councillor participation in extra committee work,” the committee said.
• The committee recommends that the per diem rate of $235.88 remain unchanged. “The rate has been increased by the cost of living adjustments applied by the county since the committee last reviewed the rate. From 2010 to 2013 the per diem rate has increased by five per cent to keep pace with inflation.”
• The committee recommends that the basic rate for reeve, deputy reeve and councillors remain unchanged. “The committee chose to review total annual compensation (per diem and base pay) as the best means of determining if MVC remuneration policy was competitive. The conclusion reached by the committee is that MVC's existing council remuneration rates remain competitive.”
• The committee recommends that council should also be eligible to receive the fitness and health allowance established in policy #2006. “Councillor duties involve a lot of meetings, which may lead to a very sedentary lifestyle. Promoting a healthy lifestyle for elected representatives would be a benefit to all ratepayers.”
The MVC policies and priorities committee is made up of all councillors.
Councillors passed a motion receiving the remuneration committee's report for information.
Councillors asked the committee to consider and report back on a number of followup issues, including mileage for road inspection work, pay for extraordinary meetings, and whether meeting attendance should impact base pay.
Councillor Paddy Munro said he believes councillors should be paid more, particularly with new four-year terms starting in October.
