A majority of Lambton County councilors voted Wednesday in favor of a pay raise.
Article content
The vote for an additional $1,720 a year came during a county council committee-of-the-whole meeting in response to a consultant’s survey of a dozen similarly sized Ontario municipalities that found pay for Lambton councilors was six per cent below the median in 2024.
The increase backed Wednesday would take the base pay for Lambton councilors to the median of $29,332 a year. The raise could be confirmed when council meets Feb. 5.
Not everyone at Wednesday’s meeting supported the increase.
“Politicians are the only ones who give themselves raises and the public resents that,” said Sarnia Coun. Bill Dennis who opposed the increase.
“Especially given today’s environment, I think the optics of this are horrible,” Dennis said.
Article content
“Anyone who does this job for pay is doing it for the wrong reason,” he said.
County council has adopted a policy in recent years of setting its own pay to match the median of similarly sized municipalities and hiring consultants to carry out the survey. Council pay is reviewed each term and the previous review was in 2022.
Lambton’s policy of being a median pay employer extends to its employees, a report said.
The latest survey found the annual base pay of $88,363 for Lambton’s warden was at the median and the $46,932 pay for deputy warden was above the median.
The motion passed Wednesday wouldn’t change the pay for warden, who serves as chairperson of council, or the deputy warden.
“The reason that this report shows up is because we were so out of whack for so many years,” said Warwick Township Mayor Todd Case.
Article content
Pay levels for Lambton councilors would fall behind “and then all of a sudden there would be a huge increase come along” and “put council behind the eight ball,” he said.
“The economy is tight,” Case said. “We all understand that.”
The approach of adjusting council pay every term to match the median of similar municipalities was adopted to avoid the need for large increases, Case said.
“I want to be very clear, I’m not unsatisfied with what I receive as far as renumeration goes,” he said.
But not addressing the issue now could leave pay levels further behind when they are reviewed for the next term of council, Case said.
The increase, if confirmed, would cost the county a total of $25,800 a year, the report said.
Dan Sageman, deputy mayor of Lambton Shores, said “staying current with compensation” is important if Lambton is going to remain able to attract councilors “from different walks of life,” including those taking time away from jobs and businesses to serve.
“We made a decision we could maintain the level, and it’s important to maintain that level,” said Point Edward Mayor Bev Hand. “We have a process in place to address it, and I support it.”
Share this article in your social network