How much would a full-time city councillor be paid? Councillor van Holst wants to know
CTV
Is the role of city councillor part-time? Full-time? Or something unique?
Is the role of city councillor part-time? Full-time? Or something unique?
Council sets its own pay, so determining workload expectations and fair financial compensation for municipal politicians has prompted some uncomfortable debates during previous terms of office — Here we go again.
“I’ve always been interested in having us with a full-time council, like all the other cities our size,” Councillor Michael van Holst tells CTV News.
In a letter to council’s Strategic Priorities and Policy Committee, van Holst praises a recent decision to shift the start time of city council meetings from 4 p.m. to 1 p.m. next term because it better aligns with the working hours of civic administration.
“In some reports comparing municipalities, that is called a full-time council,” he writes. “To continue the dialogue (or rule out the idea altogether), we need to know the remuneration of a full time councillor.”
His letter then suggests directing the Council Compensation Task Force to determine an appropriate stipend for a councillor who keeps primarily daytime hours.
“There’s never an ideal situation that works for everybody, however to be able to hash out what’s the best, you need the information,” van Holst says.
