We just want a win. You know, a time where government spending goes down.
It was there for the taking after Chatham-Kent council finally, after years of people trying to make it happen, opted to cull three council seats from the table when we go to the polls this fall.
Fewer councillors means some savings, right?
Wrong.
Instead, council approved a proposal where they all get a raise, to the tune of $1,840, starting after the fall election.
Miraculously, the raise for the 14 remaining councillors and mayor is collectively a perfect match to the salaries saved by the cutting of three council positions.
Do we blame council for voting themselves – sorry, the next version of themselves (there will be some new faces, but…) – a nearly $2,000 raise? After all, they were just rubberstamping a recommendation from a three-member panel of volunteers who reviewed the renumeration process and came up with the figure.
Do we blame council? Yes.
Do we blame the committee of volunteers? Yes.
We get it that inflation is hammering everyone, and that with a smaller council the remaining members will be asked to do more. But the taxpayers could use a win. Even if it is not a massive win dollarwise in an operating budget of close to $500 million, this would have been a very, very visible one.
But that opportunity fell by the wayside.
We do understand it is not easy being an elected official these days. Online polarization on issues and beliefs are crossing into the real world, and citizens who foam at the mouth online with their respective conspiracy theorists have taken their anger into council chambers. Armchair councillors abound.
However, next year, a councillor will take home an income of nearly $44,000 for a part-time job. That income is about $2,000 more than the median annual personal income for the average citizen in C-K.
The arguments in favour of the raise are all-too regular and oh-so fatiguing: “Look what councillors make elsewhere.” “We need to pay well so we attract the best people.”
Serving the public in the capacity of an elected official used to be a calling. Now, it seems it is focused on the coin.
Can we at some point also recognize Chatham-Kent is a very unique municipality and can’t just be compared to communities of similar population sizes?
And, more importantly, please consider cost of living when setting public-sector salary levels.
