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Courtenay council approves pay hikes

At Monday’s meeting, Courtenay council approved a remuneration bylaw to pay the mayor $72,300 per year, starting Jan. 1. Councillors will receive $25,332.
13799245_web1_Courtenay-council
Courtenay council

At Monday’s meeting, Courtenay council approved a remuneration bylaw to pay the mayor $72,300 per year, starting Jan. 1. Councillors will receive $25,332.

The bump in mayor’s salary totals $10,493, factoring in a market adjustment of $2,693 as per the median for similar-sized municipalities, and a $7,800 adjustment due to upcoming taxation changes. Canada Revenue Agency is eliminating the tax-free portion of remuneration for elected officials. The adjustment is intended to offset the loss of the income tax exemption.

Considering the amount of attention the matter has received, Coun. David Frisch asked if there’s an appetite to decrease the mayor’s salary.

Coun. Doug Hillian thinks the compensation is fair because the mayoral demands are increasing.

“When you’re in the mayor’s chair, you respond to things that happen whenever they happen, and you’re always a potential target for whatever is going on in the community that people are not happy about,” Hillian said. “I don’t begrudge a nickel of it.”

Though he’s aware of public concern about government costs, the actual cost to pay mayor and council is a “relatively small part of the tax puzzle,” Hillian said.

“I think if we’re going to expect somebody to put their life on the line for the City and sit in the mayor’s chair that we should compensate them fairly, and I don’t think this amount is excessive.”

For 2022, and for each year of a local government election, the annual council remuneration will be reviewed through a market review process.

•Council adopted a zoning amendment bylaw to allow a couple to add a secondary suite to their house to accommodate their daughter, who is on a personal disability.

Sean and Katie Doran live at 1081 Mantle Dr. in East Courtenay. At a public hearing, a couple of neighbourhood residents raised concerns about parking and demographic changes that could come with secondary suites. Others, however, voiced their support for the couple.



reporter@comoxvalleyrecord.com

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