File picture – signal exterior County of Simcoe Administration constructing in Midhurst
Simcoe County councillors will get extra bang for his or her buck and it isn’t sitting nicely with Premier Doug Ford.
Earlier this week, county councillors permitted a phased-in pay improve over three years, starting in 2025, to spice up their base wage and assembly per diem from $18,079 to $47,717. This is able to deliver the wages of county councillors into the sixtieth percentile in comparison with politicians at different county and regional governments in Ontario.
Ford, who was at an unrelated information convention in Oshawa on Friday, lashed out at county council for approving the wage spike.
“They voted themselves, are you prepared for this one, a 167 per cent improve in wage. Would not it’s nice if we may all simply improve our wage?”
A reporter requested Ford at Friday’s information convention about latest faculty board spending scandals, and from there, he tore a strip off the choice made by county councillors on Tuesday to jack salaries.
“It is just like the fox caring for the hen home,” mentioned the premier. “This has to cease. That is what frustrates me while you’re losing taxpayers cash and you then’re out on the opposite facet screaming that you simply want more cash. Cease blowing the taxpayers cash and be accountable.”
Not each councillor at this week’s assembly lined up in favour of the pay increase.
“I’m having an issue with the share of improve. I notice that will probably be for the subsequent council, however nonetheless it comes from the pockets of the ratepayers of Simcoe County,” mentioned Severn Township Deputy Mayor Judith Cox throughout Tuesday’s county council assembly. “With the economic system the best way it’s now, I am unable to in good religion for the residents of Simcoe County go along with such a excessive improve.”
Midland Mayor Invoice Gordon mentioned a quantity wasn’t wildly picked out of the blue.
“This can be a complete evaluate of what different municipalities tasked with the identical work we’re doing are paying their representatives,” Gordon mentioned at Tuesday’s assembly. “It is simply getting us to, you realize, to not the highest of the record however simply catching us up. The longer we wait, the larger that hit goes to be. I would be towards voting for something that noticed me getting a rise this time period. I signed up for this and I knew what I used to be getting paid. I do not want a rise midstream.”
Collingwood Mayor Yvonne Hamlin supported a pay improve for the subsequent time period and argued it was a technique to encourage the youthful technology to “step up.”
“Those that are working full time take off from these jobs to take a seat as councillors and county council. We should always no less than be trying to match among the funds they’re dropping,” she informed Tuesday’s council assembly. “It should not be a prerequisite for sitting on a neighborhood council that you do not want some other earnings otherwise you’re retired. Because the (child) boomers are growing older out–I confess, I’m one–we have to begin encouraging the youthful technology which might be nonetheless working to return and step into these positions, and I feel we have to improve the wage to mirror that.”
Essa Township Mayor Sandie MacDonald, who additionally spoke on the assembly, mentioned the increment was too giant for anybody to obtain.
Simcoe County Warden Basil Clarke in an announcement this week referred to as the dialogue concerning the wage improve “difficult,” although he felt it was vital to make the choice earlier than the subsequent election.
“Merely put, the earlier price of compensation for our councillors and head of council was considerably behind different municipalities of comparable dimension, service supply, and governing oversight. This is because of making no adjustments to council salaries for the previous a number of years, regardless of the continuous rise of inflation and the price of dwelling.”
If a brand new council construction is permitted and the warden’s place is made full-time, the bottom wage will climb to $181,800 beginning in 2026. The warden’s present wage is $86,251. The deputy warden’s base wage would stay at $55,041.
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