Wednesday’s Headlines

4 comments

1. We really need a way to insulate council from the political backlash that inevitably follows any attempt to make their pay competitive with the suburbs and small towns. Granted, nobody is going to suffer on $167K, but the populist outrage associated with council salaries is just another example of the small-minded, Rob Ford-style approach to city finances. People make a fuss about relatively insignificant issues and ignore the systemic issues with the way tax dollars flow into and out of the city.

2. I agree. 167K for a mayor that manages such a complex city government is not a lot. Any top executive in a mid-size corporation can easily beat that, with a simpler job to do. The focus should be on the effectiveness of the mayor or the council, not how much they make (not when it is in this range anyway).

3. And wasn’t avoiding public backlash the reason an outside consultant is hired to recommend an appropriate raise, if any? Since it looks bad giving oneself a raise without reason. So get an unbiased other to provide a figure and reasons, which can be debated by council and acted on as they see fit.

4. At the risk of stating the obvious, at a time when groups across the public sector are being asked to hold the line on any increases, now is a rather poor time to be talking about increasing any politician’s compensation. Rob Ford may be scoring some points from this — but it’s not because of him that timing on this is as bad as it is.