Most municipalities grapple with the thorny issue of Councillor remuneration every few years.
Over the term of the previous Council this became an often stated request of Councillors. The MNP Governance review addressed the matter and suggested that each Council should conduct a review near its term end to apply to the following Council. Several members of the current Council requested a quick review rather than wait for our fourth year.
In this newsletter I want to outline some of the basic factors involved to help you think about this Councillor compensation. This is a contentious issue with conflicting perspectives on how to proceed.
For me, there is an obvious conflict of interest here, and I will limit myself to providing you with some basic facts and figures along with some issues you should consider when thinking about Councillor compensation.
Before jumping to some obvious recommendations, such as “same as last year with a cost of living escalator”, or “no change…they are already paid too much”, let’s take a look at some basic questions and then review present and past compensation levels for City of Victoria Councillors.
What is the current level of remuneration for Councillors?
What additional responsibilities do Councillors have and how much are they paid for this extra work? Does the current level of compensation adequately reflect the workload of Councillors?
Who gets to decide Councillor remuneration?
Should Councillors decide themselves? Should someone else decide? Or should we use a formula to make the decision less subjective and eliminate conflicts of interest?
Should Councillor compensation reflect community standards?
What is the average wage in the city? Should Councillor compensation reflect prevailing rates for similar work in the community? What are comparable positions?
How do we determine whether or not a Councillor is performing adequately on the job and therefore worthy of his/her current compensation?
Should paid employment by advocacy groups be allowed to continue after being elected to Council? Should Councillors forgo advocacy on behalf of organizations with which they were affiliated prior to being elected to office?
Is the current level of compensation sufficient to attract competent Councillors?
Members of the previous Council and some on the current Council have suggested that remuneration is outdated and too low. However, the Councillor base remuneration does not paint the whole picture. This newsletter provides information on background, context, base and additional remuneration, and workloads of Councillors.
Do the 8 Councillors all work the same hours?
How many hours per week does the typical Councillor work? Is the work of a Councillor full time? Are Councillors able to hold full-time or part-time jobs in addition to their duties as Councillors? Are Councillors expected to work the same hours as staff? Or are Councillors expected to work the same hours as professionals in our community who are not bound by union standards?
The current Renumeration Review
Council discussed portions of the 2022 MNP City of Victoria Governance Review on July 27, at the Committee of the Whole meeting. MNP recommendations relating to a review of the role of Council and remuneration were considered (Section 5.2, page 26 of the MNP review).
MNP Recommendation 5.1.4 to pursue a policy regarding Council’s role in matters beyond core responsibility was not supported by the majority of Council (7 not wanting such a policy). You may recall that the MNP review, upon analyzing their survey, stated “Overwhelmingly, 82% of online survey respondents disagreed or strongly disagreed that Council ensures that the City is focused on the right things.”
Regarding a review of Council Remuneration, the following motion has received unanimous support: “As per Recommendation 5.2.3, direct the city manager to undertake a formal review of base Council remuneration, including considerations of time commitment, principles for appropriate comparators and benchmark levels, a regular review framework and schedule, per diems for external committee appointments that are not already compensated, and conferences, with a report back due by December 31, 2023.”
The current review, under the direction of the City Manager, will assess remuneration with regards to work loads and remunerations compared to several cities leading to recommendations. Ironically, the workload assessment will be done without the benefit of a review of the role of Councillors.
Background to City of Victoria Policy
In 2006, the then Mayor brought forward a proposal to increase his and Councillors’ salaries. Strong public outcry led to an Advisory Committee to recommend on the level of compensation and Councillors’ part-time status. The committee interviewed Councillors, gathered time-sheets, and sought and gained public input. It found that Councillor’s work was full-time and was usually mixed with volunteering in the community. Public input was clear that Councillors should not vote themselves raises, hence a key recommendation that remuneration should be tied to the average full-time earnings in the city and automatic increases.
A base amount for Mayor and Council remuneration was established by Bylaw 08-103 in December 2008. Remuneration for the Mayor is set at 2.5 times remuneration of other members of Council. Councillor remuneration has been adjusted annually on January 1 by the Consumer Price Index for Victoria. In the midst of the pandemic, Council chose to forgo an increase in 2021 (bylaw 21-015).
What is the City’s Base Remuneration for Mayor and Councillors?
Councillor base remuneration is reported publicly on the City of Victoria website. However, the published information does not include any annual retainer fees or per diems that may be received from external board or committee roles. From the MNP Review, “remuneration for 2022 was $118,739 for the mayor, and $47,496 for other members of Council. For context, the median income for full year full time workers in Victoria BC was $49,464 in 2016 (2021 data not yet released)”. For 2023, the base City of Victoria remuneration for a Councillor is $51K. The Mayor’s base remuneration would be about $127K.
What Additional Remuneration do City Councillors receive?
The most significant additional, external remuneration relates to membership on the Capital Regional District (CRD) Board, committees, and commissions. The Mayor and three Councillors are Directors of the CRD. Other Boards which provide significant remuneration are the BC Transit Board and the Greater Victoria Harbour Authority (GVHA) Board.
CRD: CRD remuneration received by the City’s Mayor and three Councillors ranges from $29K to $32K, depending on the number of committees each participates in and their roles on these committees. The current City of Victoria CRD Board members are Mayor Alto and Councillors Caradonna, Coleman, and Thompson.
- Total remuneration for three Councillors is expected to be over $80K per year.
Councillors not on the CRD Board who are appointed to specific committees or commissions may receive compensation of $110 per meeting.
BC Transit: Board Directors are paid an annual fee of $7.5K plus per meeting fees of $500. In the 2021-22 fiscal year, Former Mayor Helps received remuneration of $9.5K. Mayor Alto is the current City Council representative on the BC Transit Board.
GVHA Board: The Board Director annual fee is $4K with meeting fees of $400 ($200 if meeting less than one hour) and supplementary fees for Directors holding board executive positions and those serving as Chairs of committees. Meeting attendance varies considerably; In 2022 the most common payment to Directors without Chair responsibilities was $6.4K. The current City of Victoria Director is Councillor Kim.
- Total remuneration for one Councillor can be expected range from $56K-60K per year.
Other: There are a couple dozen committees to which Councillors may be appointed. Several of these pay a per diem of $100-300 per meeting while most do not pay a per diem. Some committees meet monthly, some bi-monthly, some quarterly and some semi-annually. Councillors could anticipate receiving payments of $0 to $300 per meeting or $0-$3K per year.
- Total remuneration for four Councillors can be expected to range from $51K to $53K per year.
In summary, remuneration for City Councillors ranges from $51K to about $85K per year, depending on external Board and committee appointments and remuneration.
What is a Councillor’s current workload and how does it affect earnings? It varies.
Workload would include consideration and decision-making through Council meetings and other boards and committees, liaison activity with assigned neighbourhoods with Councillors being assigned 1-3 neighbourhoods, communicating with the general public through open meetings or e-mails or phone, communicating and meeting with developers on land use proposals, attending public and association meetings and events and forums, participating in committee work with City or CRD or external organizations, and becoming familiar with current issues which affect our city.
The MNP findings, focused on the tumultuous period from April 2021 through March 2022, suggest that Council meeting workloads were about 400 hours of meetings and another 400 hours of preparation. However, Council Meeting procedures and considerations have been altered tremendously over the past 11 months, effectively reducing the meeting times with significant further reductions anticipated in the years ahead. Changes include:
- Council Procedures Bylaw greatly altered meeting procedures, creating speaking limits for Councillors on a given topic and streamlining other items
- Evening Council meetings have been reduced by
- revising Requests to the Address Council Policy to reduce, by 40%, opportunity for the public to speak at the beginning of meetings
- waiving Public Hearings for most proposals that did not require an OCP amendment.
(Note: meeting times already reduced with several meetings completed by 8:30/9 pm)
(Note added subsequent to distribution of newsletter: October 26 Council adjourned by 7:45 pm)
Going forward, I expect further reduction in public input and Council deliberations due to:
- Reduction in role of heritage committees re Victoria Civic Heritage Trust and Tax Incentive Program and referrals to the Heritage Advisory Panel,
- Delegation of authority from Council to staff
- for Market Leasing & Licensing of City Lands,
- for variances associated with Development Variance permits, through changes to the Land Use Procedure Bylaw,
- anticipated further delegation upon review and changes to the Missing Middle Housing Policy,
- anticipated reduction of community voice and delegation to staff as an outcome of the OCP 10 year update.
Currently, most CRD committee meetings are scheduled for Wednesdays, with many meetings occurring monthly.
Regarding the myriad of other meetings, the MNP findings suggested that other committee meetings “may minimally account for 10-20 hours per month at an average of 2 hours each per month”. Further, communications with constituents or participating in civic events “would add another 400 hours” and concluded that there would be “an approximate expectation of 1300-1400 hours per year for Councillors not involved on the CRD board”. However, this was based on a 50 week per year workload while 45 weeks would be more in keeping with the City Hall calendar. The MNP report also acknowledged that in BC, 30 hours per week or more is considered full time. Personally, when employed, I rarely experienced a 30-hr week as professional responsibilities typically demand more.
In my estimation, after being on Council for 11 months, standard Council work load would be 25-30 hours per week for 45 weeks. For CRD Directors, the time commitment would be greater. And for the Mayor, significantly greater.
The 2006 Advisory group which examined Council remuneration came to the same conclusion, but also referenced volunteer work as being in the mix. Should on-going work, paid or unpaid, be considered part of a Councillor’s work load?
Over the past months, Councillors have expressed conflicting views on this issue. This Council has made changes to policies and processes to reduce public input. Some Councillors have argued that they would value more time to speak with people they want to associate with or assist. We have heard from some that many of the public who speak do not add anything new – suggesting value of input may be questionable. And it has even been suggested that Instagram may serve as a substitute to gather input rather than time consuming public gatherings or consultation.
Is the current level of remuneration a barrier to good governance?
We do know that remuneration has not served as a barrier to those who wish to sit on Council. Past elections have seen up to 30 contenders for 8 Councillor positions. Is the mix of experience and background of Councillors sufficient to manage a city like Victoria? Members on the current Council hold at least 15 university degrees, 4 being in law and 2 MBAs.
Members of Council submit annual financial disclosure statements in January to comply with the BC Financial Disclosure Act. Review of these documents suggest that only two Councillors, myself and Councillor Caradonna, are not affiliated with a business or organization from which we receive financial remuneration for services.
The reality is that many of those in the workforce who are considering seeking office must make a decision as to whether it is possible to walk back into a solid career after a 4-year break. It is about more than remuneration. For some who are elected to office, the remuneration may result in a lower income as full-time work in another field may not be possible. For others, it may represent an opportunity to augment their income.
For the public, the question may not be what level of remuneration Councillors should receive. The question may be “what is good governance? And what level of remuneration assures us that competent people run for office?”. As reported in the MNP Governance Review: “Sixty-eight percent of respondents strongly disagreed or disagreed that Council overall makes decisions based on what they believe is in the best interest of the city.”
This newsletter serves as a primer to help us understand how to approach the question of Councillor remuneration. I look forward to seeing the recommendations which will come forward from the review being undertaken with direction of the City Manager.
Regards,
Marg
Appendix “A”: links to Boards, Committees, and Reports referenced in the newsletter.
Appendix “B”: MNP Governance Review Recommendations 5.1.6 and 5.2.6 and part of City bylaw 08-103.
Appendix “A” Links
City of Victoria
Committee of the Whole: July 27, 2023, Governance Review Update – 80 min – 2:34 to 3:53
Minutes of July 27 meeting: “3. As per Recommendation 5.2.3, direct the city manager to undertake a formal review of base Council remuneration, including considerations of time commitment, principles for appropriate comparators and benchmark levels, a regular review framework and schedule, per diems for external committee appointments that are not already compensated, and conferences, with a report back due by December 31, 2023.”
City of Victoria Council Remuneration
Council remuneration and expenses reported annually: 2008-2022 Financial years
BC Financial Disclosure Act Statements (filed each January)
CRD Boards and Committees:
CRD Director Remuneration – Financial Report 2021 (see page 55)
BC Transit Board Renumeration Fiscal Year 2022/23
GVHA 2022-2023 Annual Report (see p. 33, 34 & 35)
(note: varying terms due to election October 2022)
Appendix “B”
2022 MNP Victoria Governance Review and Bylaw No. 08-103
MNP Governance Review
Section 5 of the report, findings and Recommendations,
5.1 Role of Mayor and Council
Recommendations 5.1.6
4. Consider establishing a policy regarding the City of Victoria’s and Council’s role in matters beyond core municipal responsibility.
5.2 Council Remuneration
5.2.6 Recommendations
1. Adopt the recommendations of the UBCM for review of Council remuneration to be reflected in an updated Council remuneration bylaw, including:
1. a) Conduct a formal review of base remuneration once per term, ordinarily in the last year of the term to enable adjustments to take effect for the next elected Council, based on an established review framework.
2. b) Continue the use of an annual adjustment to base remuneration based on the change in the CPI for in between years. Include consideration of any significant external factors that may impact remuneration at that time.
2. Maintain current levels of Council remuneration and apply the next annual adjustment according to the current by law for January 2023, pending completion of a more comprehensive independent task force review.
3. Strike an independent task force to review considerations of time commitment, principles for appropriate comparators and benchmark level (percentile) for an ongoing review framework, per diems for committee appointments and conferences, and diversity.
CoV ByLaw. NO. 08-103 A BYLAW OF THE CITY OF VICTORIA
To authorize the indemnity and expenses to be paid to the Mayor and other members of Council. Under its statutory powers, including section 165 of the Community Charter, the Municipal Council of The Corporation of the City of Victoria enacts the following provisions:
1. This Bylaw may be cited as the “COUNCIL REMUNERATION BYLAW”.
2. With effect from January 1, 2009 the Mayor shall be paid an annual indemnity of $97,760, and in each succeeding year shall be fixed at two and one half times the annual indemnity paid to other members of Council for that year as adjusted pursuant to section 4 of this Bylaw.
3. With effect from January 1, 2009 each of the other members of Council shall be paid an annual indemnity of $39,104.
4. With effect from January 1, 2010, the indemnity for each of the other members of Council shall be increased annually by an amount equal to the annual increase in the Consumer Price Index (All Items) for Victoria most recently published by Statistics Canada or its successor in function before December 10 of the preceding year.
. . . sections 5 to 8 concern payment schedule, expenses and implementation.