District of Squamish council is underpaid, according to a recent report.
Compared to mayors in similar communities, the mayor of Squamish’s salary is 11 per cent lower than the market average in B.C.
Councillors in Squamish make three per cent less than their counterparts, the British Columbia Institute of Technology study found.
Mayor Patricia Heintzman earns about $66,000 annually, while councillors bring in about $30,000 per year, according to district staff.
The study and resulting report are part of a research project for a BCIT human resources management program, according to Christina Moore, communications manager with the district.
District staff presented the report to council at a budget workshop last week. The full report is not public as it references personnel, Moore said.
The study, which was “comprehensive and robust,” according to Moore, compared the salaries of mayor and councillors in Squamish to eight similar communities: Pitt Meadows, Port Moody, Langley, White Rock, West Vancouver, Whistler, Sidney and Parksville. The comparison did not include benefit packages council members receive.
The report sparked a philosophical debate at council’s Dec. 13 budget workshop about whether or not the mayor and councillors should consider giving themselves a raise in the 2017 budget.
No final decisions were made. Councillors agreed to revisit the idea of increasing their wages to be in line with comparable communities during upcoming budget deliberations.
Heintzman said often councillors who have careers outside of council lose money “every time they walk into chambers” because they have to step away from jobs that support their families.
Former Squamish councillor (2005–2008) and business owner Jeff McKenzie agreed.
“For a small business person, they really can’t do that anymore. There are too many daytime meetings, too many nighttime meetings. It is a full-time job,” he said, adding the public doesn’t see how much background work council does preparing for meetings and consulting citizens. As a taxpayer, though, he said he also winces at the idea of paying more to increase local government wages.
“I don’t want my taxes going up because of that,” he said.
The mayor was mum on the possibility of her own wages increasing, but said more generally “we should keep up with the times.”
Coun. Karen Elliott said she supported the mayor’s wage increasing to the average suggested by the students’ study, but she did not support an income raise for the councillors.
Instead she said any increase should go toward the district’s education fund for councillors so they can take courses and attend conferences to “be more effective.”
“I make my money outside of this chamber, not in this chamber,” she said. Councillors Susan Chapelle and Ted Prior spoke in favour of the remuneration increase based on the comparison to other communities and the workload Squamish councillors face.
“It is a huge job in a growing community,” Chapelle said.
Coun. Doug Race said he could support the increase because it was moderate.
Coun. Jason Blackman-Wulff also supported the increase on the grounds it may attract candidates of different ages and socio-economic backgrounds to run for council.
Quest University political science professor Eric Gorham agreed with Blackman-Wulff that higher wages may attract a more diverse talent pool. He added the uproar that often follows the prospect of increasing politicians’ pay is a staple of North American politics.
“A lot of taxpayers see public service as that, service to the public, and the question is should any of it be compensated,” he said.
“Taxpayers are more interested in paying for the actual services and they are wondering why local politicians want more money for themselves if they see themselves as doing a job out of the public interest and the public service.”
Former mayor of Squamish Corrine Lonsdale (1993–2002) said she sees council positions as more akin to volunteering.
“It is not a profession,” she said. “You are supposed to be doing it for love of community, not for the love of the almighty dollar.”
She added if the current council believes philosophically the pay should be higher they should raise it for the next council, not for themselves.
Besides a cost of living increase the mayor and council receive annually, the last raise Squamish council members received was in 2012 when the mayor’s pay was bumped from $48,000 to $62,500, with councilors’ pay equaling 43 per cent of that at $26,875.
