After a recent, albeit informal discussion on increasing the mayoral salary in Timmins, the issue was once again discussed on Tuesday night.
Mayor Steve Black removed himself from the chambers, and current Deputy Mayor Joe Campbell stepped up to chair the proceedings. As the city's Director of Corporate Services and Human Resources Rock Foy was not present, CAO Dave Landers provided some background information.
"In the past 12 years the mayor's salary has been reviewed on two occasions, most recently in 2010. Both exercises were led by the Chamber of Commerce, with the support of administrations, " said Landers.
For the review in 2010, a committee was formed. It included two Chamber members (President and Vice President), along with the City of Timmins CAO, and the City of Timmins Director of Corporate Services.
"The goal of the committee was to ensure that a competitive salary was being offered for the position, and was put together utilizing a comparative approach with other municipalities."
The results showed that the mayoral salary was comparable to similar sized municipalities, and the Chamber of Commerce opted to not pursue an increase.
Landers told council he was seeking direction for the next steps, such as timelines for changes to take effect.
Councillor Noella Rinaldo said it was the right time to have the discussion.
"You're going to be giving up salary to take this position," she said, citing the average salary in the area is generally well paying while noting that it is 'a touchy subject' particularly during budget deliberations.
Rinaldo said it would be good to have the changes in effect for the next term, as municipal elections take place in October 2018. She added that the number shouldn't be decided solely on the size of the municipality, as mayors generally put in the same amount of hours in a week, regardless of the city size.
"You have to make it attractive enough for someone who is working, to look at perhaps this is something they can afford to do."
Councillor Pat Bamford said he agreed with Rinaldo, and that Timmins is always competing with the other large urban centres in Northern Ontario. He said there was no need to rush the decision, and that perhaps a committee recommendation could be ready by the summer.
Councillor Andrew Marks suggested that the committee should include a former Mayor because they could provide a 'unique insight' to the demands of the position.
Councillor Veronica Farrell said that the position is now almost a 24-hours a day job, and that it's time for that to be considered.
Rinaldo said she'd like to see the recommendation to be made a little sooner than the summer.
"We want to open this up to as many people that we feel will be looking at this position, and that's the reasoning for the thought process," she said.
Bamford then inquired if the city had any legislation in place which requires an elected mayor to be 'full time' which would essentially mean they can't be working elsewhere.
"Are we in a position to be requiring that person to quit their job?"
City Clerk Steph Palmateer said he didn't know of anything specific to that effect, however years ago, a bylaw was passed which stated the mayor will work 'full time' for the City of Timmins.
Council, with the exception of Councillor Rick Dubeau, voted to direct Landers to prepare a review of the mayoral salary.
