No volunteers to review council pay

As published in The Erin Advocate

No members of the public have responded to newspaper ads seeking volunteers to help review the pay of Erin politicians.

“I’m surprised, with all the public comments I get saying you are paid too much, or not enough,” said Mayor Lou Maieron at the January 21 council meeting.

Instead the CAO and Finance Director plan to survey similar municipalities to check pay levels and methods of reimbursing expenses. They will make recommendations to councillors, and a report on the issue may be circulated for public comment.

Councils generally set the remuneration for those who will take office after the next election (October 2014), so they are not seen as directly voting on their own pay. The current council has been getting annual increases that match those given to staff.