Council to vote on a pay raise

The General Government Committee is moving a recommendation forward that would see all 11 members of Council given a raise effective January 1st.

This was originally proposed by Councillor Mac Bain who says he proposed a raised based on the work Councillors are tasked with.

The recommendation moving forward includes the mayors salary at $65,000 (up from over $59,000), with nearly $27,000 going to the Deputy Mayor (up from nearly $21,000) and over $23,600 going to Councillors (up from about $19,000).

Councillor Derek Shogren sits on the General Government Committee and agreed to move this forward to the council level.

He says just going through this process hasn’t been done in a long time, so they should at least look at the numbers.

Deputy Mayor and Budget Chief Sheldon Forgette says it’s hard to compare where North Bay sits amongst the rest of the province.

The recommendation also includes council being provided with payment in lieu of benefits at a rate of 8% of Council’s annual remuneration, starting in 2017.

As well the public won’t get the chance to give their input on a council raise, with the recommendation saying, “a process specific to seek out public input regarding Council remuneration is not necessary.”

Full Council is expected to hold a vote next Monday.