Merry Christmas, Coquitlam council.
To match the contract for unionized city employees, Mayor Richard Stewart and councillors will each automatically get a 2% bump in their salaries in the new year.
That means, effective Jan. 1, the mayor's annual pay will be $132,257 in 2015 - plus $725 a month for a vehicle allowance - while councillors will each earn $57,561 plus $315 a month for mileage.
In Port Coquitlam, Mayor Greg Moore and council may also get a salary boost next year but not until March, when other Metro Vancouver cities of similar sizes - Maple Ridge, New Westminster, North Vancouver and West Vancouver - calculate their council pay hikes. PoCo takes the average of those four municipalities on which to base its new council wage.
Currently, Moore earns $88,651 a year as mayor plus $4,450 for transportation while councillors get $34,213 per year plus $1,347 per month as acting mayor and $905 annually for transportation.
Meanwhile, in Port Moody, Mayor Mike Clay will get the same payout as this year, $85,000, while councillors will again earn $33,000 a year. Last December, at a special council meeting, council voted itself a hefty raise and benefits, with Clay and Coun. Rick Glumac opposing.
@jwarrenTC
