Dear Editor,
[RE: Maple Ridge city council considers pay hike for incoming council, April 7, www.mapleridgenews.com]
Twenty twenty-six (2026) will bring many changes to the cost of living due to the war of choice by our neighbours to the south.
Europe is already reeling from the cost of gasoline, heating fuel, goods and services.
We will feel the effect within a week or two, when it hits the products on our shelves. You may have already noticed increases at the grocery stores and the fuel levy from Amazon and your local garbage collector.
Mayor and council have approved a 4.1-per-cent hike in property taxes, and given the non-union employees a raise, which is all a prelude to their desire for a pay hike.
Mayor and council have recently voted 5-1 to compare data, which is publicly available to determine where their compensation is on the pay scale in comparison to other mayors and councilors in the GVRD.
Here are some key points regarding their existing remuneration:
• Mayor makes $142,000 annually plus receives approximately $7,100 for a car allowance.
• Councillors receive $56,900, with a $2,400 vehicle allowance.
• Their compensation has an automatic annual increase that keeps pace with inflation.
• This does not include any possible overtime or possible stipend for being on a committee.
How does this compare with your income? Do you get an allowance to make your way to work?
Apparently, they will implement their discovery regarding salaries after the October civic election.
I feel a referendum should be on the ballot in October regarding raising salaries for mayor and council, given the state of the world at this time.
Career politicians exist in Ottawa.
Civic mayors and councillors are usually voted out in a maximum of eight years. They are not meant to be careers. As I have stated in a previous letter, the income they receive through our taxpayers’ dollars should not be their sole source of income.
What are city employees receiving, non-union and union?
This mayor and council seem to have made a two-tiered class structure where the people who actually do the work are not considered in getting a raise.
Personally, I would rather see a pay increase for the union workers instead of the mayor and council.
Together, in theory, the mayor and council strive to address the needs of residents and promote the welfare of the community. Does this sound like an administration that serves the best interest of the residents of Maple Ridge?
Does it sound autocratic, out of touch, or self-serving?
I feel this administration is biting the hands that feed them.
Marie Robson, Maple Ridge