Council bonus and salary charges “false,” says CSL mayor Housefather

During the campaign, the candidate, who ended up being defeated, accused the members of Côte St. Luc city council of accepting a salary increase or a bonus. Housefather’s team of eight incumbents was returned to office. “That is completely false,” Housefather said of the accusations last week during council’s first public meeting since the Nov. 1 election. He said city council had not invested in salaries since a bylaw made adjustments in 2006 based on the rate of inflation, “and certainly council has never taken a bonus of any amount of money.”

According to the annual report of Côte St. Luc’s financial situation deposited by Housefather during the same meeting, the mayor’s salary is $46,784, with $14,584 allocated for expenses. Councillors earn a salary of $15,595, with an additional $7,797 for expenses. The report was tabled in preparation for the 2010 budget, which comes before council in December.

In the report, Housefather acknowledged that although Côte St. Luc’s “fixed costs continue to rise,” his administration “will work very hard to create a fair and efficient budget for the 2010 fiscal year.” Côte St. Luc had a net cumulative operating surplus of $1,064,816 at the end of 2008.

The city has decided to use a portion of the surplus to reduce refinancing costs on its long-term debt for water infrastructure purchased from the City of Montreal. Côte St. Luc had estimated the cost of holding the election at $250,000. However, after the mayor and five councillors were acclaimed, it was determined that substantially less would be spent and the remainder has been placed in a reserve.