Pay increase for councillors moves ahead over objections from Perry and Ashmore

Council approved a three per cent annual pay increase for the next term, along with a significant increase in compensation for the deputy mayor role, in a 7-2 vote at its April 21 regular meeting.

The decision followed debate over the size of the increases, with two councillors arguing they were too high, while others said the adjustments reflect inflation and the growing workload of council members.

The plan outlines three per cent pay increases for council members annually from 2027 to 2030. By the end of the term, the mayor’s salary is projected to reach about $139,700, while councillors would earn just over $60,000.

Currently, Mayor Doug Elmslie earns $124,175 annually, while councillors earn $53,372.

The most significant change applies to the deputy mayor role, where additional compensation will increase to $12,000 annually from roughly $2,500.

Deputy Mayor and Ward 8 Coun. Tracy Richardson currently earns $56,620 annually. Under the proposed plan, total compensation for the role would rise to just over $72,000 by 2030.

During the debate ahead of the vote, some council members supported the increases, saying they are intended to keep salaries in line with inflation and workloads, while reflecting the time commitment required for meetings, committees and constituent work.

However, Ward 3 Coun. Mike Perry and Ward 6 Coun. Ron Ashmore, who voted against the proposal, expressed concerns over the pay raises.

“I would argue that setting a three-per-cent increase locked in automatically isn’t necessarily the responsible management of resources,” Perry told council. “Very, very few – if any – sectors are getting a four-year lock-in of wage increases.”

At the end of each term, council sets compensation for the next council based on recommendations from city staff. Perry and Ashmore argued the decision should instead be left to the next council as a matter of accountability.

“We’re basically making a decision, I think, that the next council should be making,” Ashmore said.

Perry agreed.

“Yes, we’ve done it this way in the past, but that doesn’t mean that we have to do it this time,” he said.

Given current economic pressures, he said the increases are steep.

“We have people right here in Kawartha Lakes struggling with cost of living, with grocery bills, holding off repairs – people aren’t getting three per cent raises here where we live,” Perry said.

Elmslie defended the increases, saying they reflect the demands of the role and would cost residents about $12 per year.

He said council members are expected to respond to a high volume of calls and emails from constituents, and that workload has increased in recent years.

“You’re basically on call 24 hours a day, seven days a week,” Elmslie told councillors. “The amount of work that council has absorbed over the term of this council and the last council is much greater than it ever was.”

If members of the next council feel the increases are too generous, they can make amendments, Elmslie added.

Ward 4 Coun. Dan Joyce, who voted in support of the proposal, said rising inflation means salaries for members of the next council need to keep pace.

“This is not a salary increase – this is just keeping pace,” he said.