Here's the salary of every mayor and councillor in British Columbia

The cost of everything is high in Metro Vancouver — including, it seems, salaries for mayors and councillors. 

A CBC News analysis of the 2021 salary of every mayor and councillor in British Columbia showed that local politicians in Metro Vancouver were paid significantly higher than those in the rest of the province with similar population sizes. 

All told, 15 of the 16 highest-paid mayors in B.C. were in the Lower Mainland, topped by Coquitlam's Richard Stewart at $183,365. (The full list of salaries is at the bottom of this story.)

Most of the others at the top were in large municipalities, but not all of them: in West Vancouver (population 44,122), Mayor Mary-Ann Booth made nearly $30,000 more than Vernon Mayor Fred Haynes, despite having less people. 

The biggest deviation from the provincial average was Langley City (population 28,963), where the mayor and councillors made close to double that of their counterparts in similarly-sized municipalities like Penticton, North Cowichan and West Kelowna.

"We have a lot of things that we address here being as part of Metro Vancouver that you don't have in those communities," said Langley City councillor Nathan Pachal, who is running for mayor.

Langley City's compensation for mayor and council is tied to the median amount paid for mayors across Metro Vancouver — with Langley councillors receiving 40 per cent of what the mayor makes — and Pachal argued the role of a local politician was equivalent to a full-time job. 

"There are a lot more responsibilities today when you're in local government," he said, adding that higher levels of government had downloaded more responsibility onto cities.

"Ten years ago, it might be looking at the budget, voting on some roads, looking at some places to improve. Now, we're really dealing with a lot of social issues in our community."

But outside Metro Vancouver, being a councillor is still compensated as a part-time position, with virtually every town paying somewhere between $5,000 and $30,000 a year.

And that can cause tensions.

"I'm not sure if I can afford to run again," said Revelstoke councillor Nicole Cherlet, who lives in the community of 8,000 people facing population and affordability pressures.

A first-term councillor, Cherlet says she was forced to close her retail business a few months ago after three years of trying to balance her full-time job with a council position that paid $16,608 in 2021.