Maple Ridge city councillors chose not to give a pay raise to the incoming council, after this October’s election, beyond their annual cost-of-living adjustment.
This year, that will be 2.1 per cent, taking effect next month.
Staff provided comparisons with neighbouring cities, and found Maple Ridge below the average.
The mayor currently makes $142,000. By policy, councillors receive 40 per cent of that salary, or $57,000.
In June they will receive a consumer price index adjustment of 2.1 per cent, taking the mayor’s salary up to $145,000, and councillors to $58,000.
“After 15 years without a full structural review, the city has fallen modestly behind remuneration levels in comparable municipalities, particularly for the mayor’s role,” said the report.
To align with the average, the mayor would need a seven-per-cent increase to $155,000, and council salaries would jump to $62,000 – but councillors spoke against that pay hike.
“Affordability is really top of mind for folks right now in our community,” Coun. Korleen Carreras said.
She noted the politicians will get a cost of living adjustment, but she is not comfortable raising either salary or car allowance.
Coun. Judy Dueck agreed.
“The numbers show us we are below the median,” she said, but given fiscal challenges “now is not the time to propose a raise.”
“At this time, I think we are fairly compensated for the work that we do,” added Dueck.
Coun. Sunny Schiller echoed that with: “There is a gap, it’s not a huge gap, and I don’t think it’s a priority to work on right now.”
Mayor Dan Ruimy said: “There are some challenges – we’re not the worst off, we’re not the best.”
Ruimy said the yearly cost-of-living increase is comparable to raises received by “everyone else out there,” at about 2.1 per cent this year.
Council also did not increase the vehicle allowance, set at $7,125 per year for the mayor and $2,423 for councillors. The average across the region is over $10,000 for mayors and almost $5,000 for councillors.
Councillors also discussed parental leave for elected officials, but will wait to see provincial legislation is enacted.