Port Coquitlam city hall will give another look at the formula for how it pays its politicians.
This week, city council okayed a staff request to review the council remuneration policy that was adopted in 2010. In that year, after years of frozen wages, council controversially awarded itself a 42% salary boost for councillors and a 27% hike for the mayor.The decision in 2010 came after a citizen task force noted PoCo council pay fell behind the remuneration of other Metro Vancouver city councils.
On Monday, Poco finance director Karen Grommada told The Tri-City News the policy update is timely given recent changes in the calculation.
Currently, PoCo bases its 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).
But with West Vancouver's mayor not getting a transportation allowance, Grommada said PoCo council has decided to freeze the mayor's transportation stipend at $4,450 a year.
As well, she said aligning the council remuneration packages with comparable cities in population opens PoCo up to volatility, should one of those communities make sudden or large changes.
Asked if PoCo would consider the route Coquitlam takes that is, matching council remuneration with the city contract for its unionized employees that results in an automatic pay increase on Jan. 1 Grommada said, "It's one of the options. There's also the CPI [consumer price index]. There are a variety of options out there."
No process has been determined yet for how the remuneration review will proceed; however, Poco council asked staff for a report by the end of the year.
Meanwhile, also on Monday, PoCo council gave itself a salary adjustment for 2015: Mayor Greg Moore's wage bumps up to $91,148 a year (up $2,497) while councillors will get $35,667 annually (up $1,454).
By comparison Coquitlam Mayor Richard Stewart receives $132,257 (plus $725 a month for vehicle) while councillors each earn $57,561 plus $315 a month for mileage. And in Port Moody, Mayor Mike Clay gets $85,000 a year while councillors reap $33,000 annually.
One-third of city council's remuneration is tax-free.
