Residents’ group to poll on council’s wage hikes

BY ANDY BLATCHFORD

andy.blatchford@transcontinental.ca

Beaconsfield’s decision to hike council salaries has created a wealth of angry taxpayers, according to members of a local citizens group, who aim to find out just how many.

City council is scheduled to adopt a bylaw to boost mayor and councillor wages by close to 20 per cent at its regular meeting next Monday.

But Beaconsfield Citizens Association (BCA) interim president Karin Essen said many residents oppose the move, especially following major property-tax hikes in 2006 — some of which rose above 30 per cent. “People are still very, very angry about the tax increases from last year,” she said. “We’re still reeling; that ire has not subsided in any of us.”

BCA members began distributing a two-question survey door to door in their neighbourhoods Monday, she said, adding they hope to deliver 1,500 copies.

An Internet link to the poll will also be e-mailed to the group’s member list, which totes about 150 names, she added.

The survey asks if the reader is aware of the proposed salary increases and if they are in agreement.

Essen said the BCA will compile the data and plans to present results at the Feb. 26 council meeting. She said the group’s effort is driven by a matter of principle. “Sure (council members) say they’re putting in a lot of hours and effort, but they’re still very new at this,” she said. “Why are they insisting on putting this through now, so early in their mandate? “After 12 months (in office) people don’t see that they’ve done something for them yet.”

If adopted, Mayor Bob Benedetti, who earned $25,066 in 2006, will make $30,000 this year. His annual non-taxable expense account will remain at $14,018.

The salaries of Beaconsfield’s six councillors will jump from $8,355 (and a $4,178 non-taxable expense account) to $10,000 (and a $5,000 non-taxable expense account) in 2007.

Benedetti said even with the raises, Beaconsfield council will still be paid below the going rate of other similar-sized West Island municipalities. “I just don’t understand what all the fuss is about,” he said Monday. “We’ve got to keep the salary to a point where it’s attractive to certain kinds of people to at least think about presenting themselves for municipal office.”

Benedetti said the council’s base wage adjustment, Beaconsfield’s first since 1998, totals just over $20,000 a year.

After looking at the BCA survey, Benedetti said their numbers show that if passed, the mayor’s salary would go up around $8,000 in six years (since 2001). But in 1996, the mayor made a base of about $20,000, so that’s a $10,000 increase over 11 years, he said. “That’s a big difference,” he said. “They’ve put some numbers in there to make it look as bad as possible.”

He believes the raises are slight and will bring the salaries closer to those in other cities. “I don’t think we’re getting carried away,” he added.

He said councillors have had a “huge increase” in their workload from added duties — such as last fall’s public consultations on the 2007 budget, sitting on two committees and answering more questions than previous councils. “We could go back to the days of 45-minute council meetings if we want, just not answering questions,” he said. “We answer every single question that’s put forward to us.”

However, not all councillors support the salary hikes. David Pollock voted against the raises at the January council meeting.

He said last month the city should “set the tone” that costs are a concern.

To view the BCA’s survey, check www.bca-acb.org.