Port Coquitlam city council will give itself a small pay raise in the new year — and a big bump to the mayor's annual transportation allowance.
On Monday, council unanimously voted to approve a new formula that will see the mayor and councillors' salaries rise, on Jan. 1 of each year, according to inflation. (But it still has to officially amend the city policy governing elected officials' pay.)
That means Mayor Greg Moore's current annual remuneration of $91,148 will go up $1,093 should the Consumer Price Index (CPI) rate stay the same as this past year, 1.2%. Based on the same CPI, city councillors would see a jump in their pay of $428 from the current $35,667.
Councillors say the new way of calculating annual pay raises is better than the current methodology.
In the past, PoCo based council remuneration on the average of the two municipalities with populations immediately greater and lower than PoCo's: New Westminster and Maple Ridge (greater) and the city of North Vancouver and West Vancouver (lower).
Speaking in favour of PoCo's new approach, Coun. Brad West criticized Coquitlam for matching its council pay to increases in the city union's collective agreement, saying the CPI is not only cheaper but is also more in line with what taxpayers get.
Still, while citing cost efficiencies, council on Monday also boosted the mayor's transportation allowance by 62% — from $4,450 to $7,200 — which will also be adjusted to CPI annually.
As well, council voted to have the city pay for 75% of councillors' extended health and dental benefits (previously, councillors paid 100% of premiums: $1,512 a year for extended health and $2,004 annually for dental).
That 75/25 split was due to start Jan. 1, 2016 but, on the recommendation of the mayor, council voted to make it effective Nov. 1.
The overall vote was moved by Coun. Dean Washington, chair of the city's budget and infrastructure committee, who noted council often takes heat from the public and press on remuneration.
He cited a controversial decision by council in 2010 to unfreeze its wages and bring council salaries up to what other Metro Vancouver councils were getting at the time. That change resulted in massive percentage hikes for PoCo's mayor and council, and created a backlash.
Other councillors at Monday's meeting also noted how council wages can generate headlines and anger in the community — especially when council members award raises to themselves.
In his report to council, chief administrative officer John Leeburn wrote how council remuneration "attracts a disproportionate amount of media and other interest" given it represents less than 0.4% of the city budget.
Leeburn was tasked by council in April to rework the council remuneration policy (council chose not to hire an outside consultant or organize a task force, as PoCo and other cities have done in the past).
After Monday's council meeting, Leeburn told The Tri-City News he had surveyed a dozen municipalities in and outside of Metro Vancouver with populations over 30,000; however, he said he could not disclose his poll results as those municipalities were promised confidentiality — even though councillors' wages are public information — because their numbers could be misconstrued, he said.
As for the $4,450 increase to the mayor's transportation allowance, Leeburn said there was "no science" behind it; rather, he said it was based on the compact size of PoCo and it was less than the regional average of $9,900.
Tuesday morning, when contacted by The Tri-City News, Mayor Moore rejected the idea that he be compensated according to mileage, as is done in Port Moody. (Last year, Mayor Mike Clay claimed a total of $827.58 for wear and tear on his electric car plus Modo fees, parking, tolls, etc.)
And Moore discounted the idea of basing the transportation allowance on total area of a municipality. "I most often will drive outside the municipality, not inside the municipality," he said, adding he is in downtown Vancouver every week to do city work.
Moore, who also chairs the Metro Vancouver board, said while he often cycles and rides public transit, his city transportation allowance is pinned to the position — not the individual.
As for his salary increase, Moore had blunt words.
"I publish my calendar online about how busy I am… I think if you ask most people, they're shocked that we don't get a pension, they're shocked at the amount of hours we put in. [Remuneration] is not an issue that comes across my desk."
Moore added: "Do you know a vice principal at a high school will get paid a lot more than the mayor of Port Coquitlam? Let's not forget the Community Charter clearly indicates that the mayor is the CEO, so I'm the mayor/CEO of a $90-million organization that affects 58,000 people pretty much every day, and I think the salary that we get paid is very justified."
In April, as it was considering the new remuneration policy, PoCo council adjusted its 2015 salary: $2,497 more for the mayor and an additional $1,454 for each councillor.
One-third of city council's remuneration is tax-free.
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