Prince George City Council Candidate Q&A

Oct 15, 2018 | 1:10 PM

On a five-part series leading up to the 2018 Civic Election, we hear from the candidates running for Prince George City Council on a number of issues.

 

PART ONE

We begin with part one of our five-part series with: What frustrates the candidates the most about the City, the corporation? 

Willy Ens – Mayor 

The candidate did not submit their responses for the Q & A by our deadline. 

Lyn Hall – Mayor 

From a Corporation perspective, the one issue that I would like to see addressed is a quicker timeline on major projects.

Frank Everitt – Councillor 

The time it takes to get an item started to its final conclusion.

Viv Fox – Councillor

The candidate did not submit their responses for the Q & A by our deadline. 

Garth Frizzell – Councillor 

It frustrates me that we have to expend considerable time and energy to address issues that are supposed to be handled by the provincial and federal government.  We collect taxes to address police, fire, roads, water, sewer, etc., and the others forms of government are supposed to address demands for services like housing, healthcare, education, etc… It’s bad enough that our tax system leaves cities maintaining 60% of Canada’s infrastructure with only 10% of the tax dollars.  We should not be forced to do their work, too, but we often do because this is where people need the services.

Dave Fuller – Councillor 

As I see it, the biggest frustration is that we are taking a short-term view to long-term challenges for the city. For example, council and administration were so intent on the building next to city hall, that we have restricted all access to funds from NDIT for the next 10 years. This ties the hands of future city councils. In my campaigning, I have heard consistent complaints that some departments of the city fail to use common sense in applying their power. A couple of examples of this are the practice of enforcing bike lane parking restrictions near schools all winter long. Or environmental services that are requiring thousands of dollars of cleanup when a simple solution to a low-risk problem would suffice. In addition, we have no clear understanding what the city wants to be known for. There is a lack of vision, accountability and imagination when it comes to using taxpayer’s money in the best possible ways.

Murry Krause – Councillor 

It’s a big organization, and like most big organizations, it sometimes takes longer to get things done than you’d like.

Terri McConnachie – Councillor 

The continued off-loading of costs from senior levels of government, the increased costs for capital projects and, internally, the need for increased communication regarding important and arising issues between senior management and council is necessary.

Cori Ramsay – Councillor 

I think that every city has the ability to be better at public spending. I hate seeing public money not being used effectively. For instance, painting sidewalks and bike lanes after Labour Day seems like a really ineffective use of our public tax payer dollars; we should be ensuring our public dollars are being utilized to their fullest potential.

Kyle Sampson – Councillor 

I am running with a positive outlook towards the future of Prince George. Rather than dwell on my personal frustrations with City Hall, if elected, I plan to focus on addressing our shortcomings as a city, finding a solution, and implementing it so we can build towards our City’s future. If I were to pick one thing that I have personal concerns about, it would be our project management ability. We have incredible people working for the City, and they need clear instructions on how to carry out a strategic plan on our projects to reduce delays in completion.

Susan Scott – Councillor 

A lack of self awareness. Communication with the citizens of Prince George should extend to a fuller understanding of decisions made and the reasons why. The staff and administration should be more aware of the issues and concerns of the citizens and provide better education / information about how things are done.

Paul Serup – Councillor 

I am frustrated by the waste of taxpayers’ money and resources, like the planned demolition of a perfectly good hotel, the Days Inn, costing millions. The mayor says that there were public consultations before the pool referendum. I believe they were not well attended however and it is a strange exercise in speculation to say that those who voted in favour of borrowing the money for a new pool also had a location in mind for it. I also believe the demolition of the RCMP building is a waste when it could have been lent to the arts community to use free of charge until there was a buyer or another significant plan for the property.

Brian Skakun – Councillor 

The lack of planning, execution and urgency from management when it comes to infrastructure failures. The sinkhole at Carney and Massey is an example of a project that has taken too long causing headaches for many residents. I have suggested the City have a dedicated project manager to look after these types of issues with a clear mandate to get the job done, within a budget, timelines and regular updates to the community as to the status of the project. We have to do better in this area of service we provide to local residents.

Cameron Stolz – Councillor 

My biggest frustration with the City is that it has done a very poor job of explaining the very dire state of our infrastructure.   The City needs to explain what needs to be done if we want to fix the challenges we face, before we end up with sinkholes like Massey and Carney all over the city.

Chris Wood – Councillor 

I find the lack of preparedness around emergency situations to be alarming. Not only have we paid overtime to management at approx. $100 an hour for the last 2 years. The solution going forward was to hire an emergency co-ordinator. This co-ordinator will be budget responsible, and will still need to get approval for challenges. This approval often occurring during non-business hours will result in a phone call to management. Resulting in even more overtime being billed, in addition to the salary of the new co-ordinator. A proper solution would have been to hire a budget responsible manager, who can make they own decisions to provide the best service PG has to offer.

 

PART TWO

Part two of our five-part series is: Does the City’s snow removal budget need a boost in funding? Why or why not.  

Willy Ens – Mayor 

The candidate did not submit their responses for the Q & A by our deadline. 

Lyn Hall – Mayor 

We have the capacity to increase the snow removal budget if required.The budget is established on historical data from one year to the next. I am certainly committed to making sure that the budget meets our snow clearing needs and costs through a review process. In 2015 the budget was $6,3000,000, 2016-2018 the budget was $7,000,000 per year.

Frank Everitt – Councillor 

The snow removal budget is a budget number that has served the city well, if we had or have a year with larger requirement of money then we would take it from reserves to clear the streets and roads.

Viv Fox – Councillor

The candidate did not submit their responses for the Q & A by our deadline. 

Garth Frizzell – Councillor 

We all want the services increased, including better snow clearing, but a city budget is always a trade-off. A boost in funding for snow clearing would mean either decreasing services elsewhere or raising taxes, neither of which is desirable.  With climate change, we’re not guaranteed a break, either. The weather events and unpredictability mean that we need to keep a 5-year fund in reserve so that we can skate over the easy years, while holding extra funds for the heavy years of snow clearing.  In the worst case of the city running over budget for snow clearing, we certainly won’t stop ploughing. The streets have to be clear.

Dave Fuller – Councillor 

The current $7 million-dollar budget for snow removal is more than the $5 million that we are spending on roads at the moment. The challenge with the budget is that we never know from year to year whether or not we will spend it depending on the snowfall. I think it is adequate based on the history of snow removal in the community. On top of this current snow budget, the city also has a reserve fund of $2.7 million dollars which can be used cover any cost overruns.

Murry Krause – Councillor 

Most likely. We now pay retainers, to ensure external contractors are available to us when the need arises. This ensures an adequate workforce in heavy snowfalls. Snow like other expenses gets more expensive every year. The levy has remained at 7M for the last three years and inflation has made the work even more expensive. For example in 2018 we have expended 7.5M so far, and we still have snow months coming.

Terri McConnachie – Councillor 

To support the expected service levels, the snow removal budget will need to be increased as it has not kept up with the actual hard costs. We need to work with the people who do the work, to find the best and most efficient ways to do their work.

Cori Ramsay – Councillor 

I think snow removal can always be improved upon. Many times I’ve heard from residents that they need better snow removal and while I agree and want everyone to be satisfied we have to recognize that there needs to be a healthy balance between services and spending. Increasing snow removal means that something else will have to be sacrificed or the tax base will increase.

Kyle Sampson – Councillor 

As a new Candidate, I have not previously been part of the internal strategy planning of snow removal. I believe we have seen improved snow removal services in the City over the past 4 years, including last winter, which saw a number of significant snowfalls. That said, I believe we can always do better, and we can certainly continue to improve these services and operations. When I am elected, I will want to look at our current operational strategies to see if there are opportunities to improve and streamline snow removal without adjusting the budget. But as we are a Northern community, I will always stand behind maintaining a budget that is sufficient to providing the level of service required to keep our roads clear and safe in the winter months. I think this is an area that we can continue to receive feedback from the public on to gain better insight on the satisfaction level of what is provided and hearing about trouble areas that are being neglected. Perhaps we can look at technology that will provide better updating on timelines of clearing and routing of equipment on the City’s website.

Susan Scott – Councillor 

Yes, I believe there need to be an increase of approximately  $3 million to adjust for the challenging year so far, to be ready for the balance of what is estimated to be a poor winter ahead and to begin re-building the snow reserves, which while not fully depleted, they likely will be.

Paul Serup – Councillor 

I would think the snow budget is directly related to the amount of snow that falls that I am unsure anyone can predict.

Brian Skakun – Councillor 

As is stands our budget is sufficient, but we always need to get feedback from local residents on how we can better clear our streets in a safe and timely manner. Snow removal has improved in the past several years but we still have room for improvement.

Cameron Stolz – Councillor 

I think we need to look at how we do snow removal.  There are areas of the City that seem to be being plowed every time there is a skiff of snow, and other areas when their road is only plowed two or three times all winter.  If we can not improve our snow removal by doing that, then we should look at increasing the snow removal budget.

Chris Wood – Councillor 

Yes, the current level of funding needs to be increased. We cannot afford to have the city closed down because we failed to plan for snow removal.

 

PART THREE

Part three of our five-part series is: Should the budget stay at $7 million or $5 million for roads and $2 million for sidewalks and parks?

Willy Ens – Mayor 

The candidate did not submit their responses for the Q & A by our deadline. 

Lyn Hall – Mayor 

In 2015-2016 the roads budget was $7,000,000 per year, in 2017-2018 the roads budget was $5,000,000 per year. During those two years $2,000,000 per year from the roads budget was used to upgrade our sidewalks and parks. I’d like to review our roads budget with the understanding that we also need major upgrades to our sidewalks and parks for increased accessibility as an example.

Frank Everitt – Councillor 

We only took it from for 17/18 budget year and I believe it will be reinstated and additional money will be applied for parks and sidewalks

Viv Fox – Councillor

The candidate did not submit their responses for the Q & A by our deadline. 

Garth Frizzell – Councillor 

Not in perpetuity.  We need to constantly re-assess whether the roads budget is sufficient. That $7 Million figure is based on maintenance estimates that are nearly five years old.  Again, Prince George’s budget is about trade-offs. For years, we underfunded the sidewalks and the parks, while having roads fully funded. When we put more money back into roads, it has to come from somewhere else.  I believe that we need to keep our roads safe, usable and well maintained, not merely based on the budget numbers estimate that was determined half a decade ago. It’s a constantly moving landscape. Since 2014, the City has employed face to face discussions (Talktober events) and the use of the Citizen Budget to get direct feedback from PG residents on their preferences on the order of budget priorities and why, before each year’s budget is finalized.  This feedback is invaluable in helping the City be flexible in doing its best in ensuring budget priorities reflect what is important to PGers every year.

Dave Fuller – Councillor 

There is a definite need for improved sidewalks in certain areas of the city. The hart taxpayers. are asking for more sidewalks to reduce the risk of accidents and ensure the safety of residents. The roads at the moment have definitely improved over the past several years, however one of the deciding factors in the cost of the roads is the fact that we have limited competition in asphalt. As a result, our cost of paving is high. There may come a point where the city needs to investigate the ownership of their own small plant to ensure taxpayers receive value when it comes to roadwork. We need to find creative ways to stretch the budgets and get the results we need for the safety and long term quality of our roads and sidewalks.

Murry Krause – Councillor 

If the limitation is 7M – Yes. I would like to see us get back up to 7M for Roads, but we would still need to find the resources to fund sidewalks and parks. They need attention too.

Terri McConnachie – Councillor 

The current funding levels are not sustainable and have not kept up with either inflation or the catch up required following years of neglect. We need to work with the people who do the work, to find the best and most efficient ways to do their work. The current funding needs to be increased or expected service levels decreased. Following the ‘Green’ years of managing local government, it is clear that the latter is not acceptable.

Cori Ramsay – Councillor 

Prince George has almost 700km’s of roads and nearly 400km’s of sidewalks. In terms of accessibility, something important to me, I would like to see a commitment to bettering our sidewalks in Prince George and that means dedicating room in the budget to help improve this infrastructure so I am in support of the $2 million for sidewalks and parks.

Kyle Sampson – Councillor 

These two categories are very different and I believe both require a lot of attention. I have read up that in order to make progress, and not fall behind on our road improvements, we need to invest a minimum of $7 million annually into road repair, resurfacing, construction, ect.

When elected, I work with my fellow councillors, as well as City Administration to re-allocate funds to the roads budget to see that we are meeting the needs of our road infrastructure, and not falling behind. However, we also need investment in our sidewalks, for safe pedestrian travel and to keep up with our ageing and deteriorating sidewalks. As well as we need to look at our parks, to see we are not falling behind on maintaining these spaces, which are extremely important to the culture and lifestyle that is offered to our citizens. When I am elected I will see that we maximizing the funding we receive from the Provincial and Federal governments to support us in our infrastructure maintenance, repair, and construction, so we can continue to keep a fair and competitive tax regime, but also keep up with our wide network of roads, sidewalks, and parks.

Susan Scott – Councillor 

Roads are another area that should remain fully funded at $7 million, with any excess moving to reserve, not funding sidewalks.  Sidewalks are still in a critical and deplorable state for a city of this size and funding to sidewalks must receive better, stronger attention for the safety of all citizens particularly those with mobility aides.

Paul Serup – Councillor 

The budget should stay at $7 million for roads and be reviewed for sidewalks and parks.

Brian Skakun – Councillor 

From having some of the worst roads in a CBC poll several years ago, we have come a long way with regards to our road rehabilitation program. As we have been able to make substantial improvements to our repaving efforts, we have diverted some of the roads money into sidewalk repair. In the past 3 years we have spent over $3 million a year in sidewalk repair and replacement. It’s a fine balancing act and without adding to the tax burden we have been able to manage our road and sidewalk rehabilitation programs in an effective manner. If community feedback dictates we need to spend more on roads and sidewalks then we will.

Cameron Stolz – Councillor 

ROADS

The current council SLASHED the roads budget from $7.0 million to $5.0 million in 2017.  I fully support funding it at $7.0 million (which is recommended by staff) to ensure road rehabilitation is done in our rural and residential neighbourhoods.

SIDEWALKS

The current council CUT the annual sidewalk budget by 5% to $1.0 million.  Staff have highlighted that the City needs to invest $2.0 million a year to fully fund sidewalk repair and construction.  I fully support increasing our sidewalk budget to $2.0 million.

PARKS

The actual expenditures for parks for the last five years has been 2014 – $3.7 million, 2015 – $3.3 million, 2016 – $4.1 million, 2017 – $3.6 million, 2018 – $3.8 million (budgeted).  Unfortunately, there has been no clear direction from council as to what the expectations are from the Parks Department. We need to look at what standard we want to set for our City.

Chris Wood – Councillor 

My end answer is: It does not matter. The reason is the Sustainable Finance Guidelines (14.2) allow the City Manager to increase any particular budget line up or down by $1 million dollars. This means the sidewalks budget is $1 to $3 million dollars. Roads were $8 to $6 million, and are now $6 to $4 million. So in the case of roads, the cuts can actually be from $8 million to $4 million, a 50% decrease in budget, but they only have to announce a change of $2 million dollars. We have to limit the City Managers ability to move budget numbers as a first priority, before discussing line items that can shift by 50% or more without the councils knowledge.

 

PART FOUR 

Part four of our five-part series is: Northern Health’s needle exchange has been operating in Prince George for many years. Are you in favour of it and how would you propose dealing with the issue of discarded needles?

Willy Ens – Mayor 

The candidate did not submit their responses for the Q & A by our deadline. 

Lyn Hall – Mayor 

I’d like to see the needle exchange moved into a wrap around service model. As well the City currently has a program to pick up discarded needles. There is a “Downtown Clean Team” that was created in partnership with the Downtown Business Improvement Assoc. to pick up needles. As well, by-law services staff, parks staff and solid waste staff will coordinate needle pick up throughout the entire City. There is no question that more needs to be done, I am a strong advocate for working with our partners on the needle pick up issue. As well, there are solutions needed that incorporate more than just the needle exchange that is why I am so committed to the wrap around service model approach.

Frank Everitt – Councillor 

I am in favour of it continuing and we could have a payment for the return of used needles as one suggestion. What would be long term solution a wrap around services for the safety injection site with supervision.

Viv Fox – Councillor

The candidate did not submit their responses for the Q & A by our deadline. 

Garth Frizzell – Councillor 

When we look at the numbers of needles collected downtown, we need to focus on what has been found.  If the harm reduction initiative were eliminated, there would be ten times the number of needles that would be shared among addicts; the likelihood of transmission of disease in the North would skyrocket.  The program is doing its work to prevent epidemics due to drug use. Absolutely, the program needs to continue operating but it needs to better address the impacts discarded needles have. BC should consider the model used in recycling, where manufacturers are now responsible for recycling the material they produce.

Dave Fuller – Councillor 

It is my belief that there should be requirements on the providers of any product including needles but also from providers of fast food, providers of plastic bags and straws, that there is a level of obligation added to clean up the garbage left behind. The problem with the needles left in the streets, alleyways, and parks, is that at this point, we are unable to determine where they came from. We do know however that the issue is one of safety for children, and residents that come into contact with these discarded needles. There needs to be a concerted effort of the whole community to deal with this but especially those who make these needles available.

Murry Krause – Councillor 

I strongly agree with what the Needle Exchange is trying to achieve. It has been a highly effective HIV Prevention program. If they were to insist on a  one-one-one exchange, people would reuse needles which would defeat the program’s purpose. It has become increasingly obvious that the City needs to work with Northern Health to resource more needle pick-up, but at the same time continue our current efforts.

Terri McConnachie – Councillor 

The needle exchange works to reduce the spread of disease in the user community and if not managed, spreads beyond that community. This issue is shared by municipalities across the country and is, in my opinion, a public health crisis. The research as to the solutions are there, and organizations and groups consisting of dedicated people are working on the front lines the best they can. It will take the political will of senior levels of government making the investment into solutions a priority – in addition to supporting and partnering with municipal governments who are on the front lines, to turn it around. Local governments must continue to press forward with all concerned.

We need low barrier housing and smart wrap around services to support people and provide them the best chance. In the interim, the recent implementation of the bylaw services support team, who worked to clean up discarded needles and temporary shelters, has taken some of the pressure from downtown and this must continue moving forward.

Cori Ramsay – Councillor 

I think it is incredibly important for Prince George to have an AIDS prevention program/needle exchange to prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS. We have a significant problem downtown and I would like to propose a couple different solutions:

• encouraging the health authority and local organizations handing out needles to promote proper disposal of needles among their clients

• encouraging harm reduction staff to respond to the issues with cleanup sweeps

• Offering a 24 hour drop off box for needle returns

• Handing out containers for collection of needles to users

• Creating a mobile needle exchange program

• Creating a 24 hour hotline for community members to report found needles

• Installing needle disposal boxes in parks and lane ways.

Kyle Sampson – Councillor 

Yes, I am in favor of the Needle Exchange provided by Northern Health. However, I think it is imperative, that we don’t sit idle while we see a growing problem of improper disposal of needles and other drug paraphernalia in our Downtown. We need to come to the table, ready to identify the issues, as well as prepared with research and recommendations on how we would like to work with the different stakeholder’s downtown, such as Northern Health and the Province, on improving on the services currently offered. I believe the Needle Exchange is providing an important role, but we can’t lean on them as a rehab service. The Needle Exchange provides Harm Reduction for our vulnerable populations. We need to look at how we can bring the resources needed to our community to provide more rehabilitating services to help our vulnerable people. We need to identify our shortcomings, research new and more effective methods of service and treatment, work with the proper groups, businesses, and government agencies to set a strategic plan on implementing these services, and then implement them in our community. Then we can measure the success of these programs through their use, and through public consultation.

Susan Scott – Councillor 

I would rather there was no need but there is. Public health experts say harm reduction programs such as the needle exchange are part of the solution when it comes to dealing with discarded needles.

In Moncton, NB where a community group has been collecting stray syringes for a decade, harm reduction workers in the city say the return rate of used needles is high. AIDS Moncton distributes nearly 200,000 needles to more than 600 people each year, Executive Director Debby Warren said.

Each month, between 75 and 90 per cent of those needles are returned safely to the organization, she said.

Paul Serup – Councillor 

I am in favour of it, without an alternative, but an alternative should be found and implemented as soon as possible, to effectively end addictions.

Brian Skakun – Councillor 

I can’t say I am in favor of it because it is not working in my opinion. Drug addicts do not have to replace crack pipes or needles in order to get new ones. As a result of this, needles end up in our parks, playgrounds, around local businesses and more. This is not acceptable from a health and safety standpoint and needs to better manage by needle program.

Part of the solution will take some effort from many of the stakeholders affected or responsible for this issue. I think we need to start with by having a community meeting or forum if you will. From the folks on the streets, local businesses, health care professionals and others. The idea would be to allow residents to provide much needed feedback on the issue with the goal of providing input for the development of a plan of action with achievable goals. Another issue I am looking into is a needle buyback program in Kamloops where a couple residents have been given private sector funding to pay the addicts for the safe return of the used needles. It has turned out quite successful and I’m involved with a couple local business folks to start a similar program in PG. We will have our first meeting next week and so far have raised several thousand dollars to help kick start our own needle but back program in PG.

Cameron Stolz – Councillor 

My suggestion would be for Northern Health to place ‘sharps containers’ in every public washroom downtown, in the back alleys, and in areas where high concentrations of used needles are found.  The needle exchange has been shown to reduce the harm from contaminated needles and thus saves the medical system significant money over the long term.

Chris Wood – Councillor 

I support public health. This means supporting the hard work of Northern Health’s needle exchange. I would prefer it be upgraded to a safe injection site, keeping needles in the area to be cleaned up instead of schoolyards and playgrounds.

 

PART FIVE

We wrap up our five-part Q&A series with part five: Should city councillors be paid higher salaries?  

Willy Ens – Mayor 

The candidate did not submit their responses for the Q & A by our deadline. 

Lyn Hall – Mayor 

 

There was an independent committee established in 2018 to review Mayor and Council salaries. I believe the salary recommendations from the independent committee reflect the duties and responsibilities of Council.

Frank Everitt – Councillor 

We are compensated as a part time job which is fair in my view .

Viv Fox – Councillor

The candidate did not submit their responses for the Q & A by our deadline. 

Garth Frizzell – Councillor 

 

Council is required in our bylaws to ask the public for a salary review at the end of each term. It is standard operating procedure for the City to convene a Council Remuneration Committee made up of members of the public to assess the situation and to provide recommendations.

In 2018, there were two unrelated matters related to councillor wages:

The federal government had downloaded some of this expense to the local governments’ budgets resulting in the take home pay for the next group of city councillors to be reduced. Prince George agreed with the Committee’s first recommendation of re-allocating funds     so that councillors’ take home pay remain as before. I voted in favour of this. It carried.

The Committee’s second recommendation was for an additional salary increase. I voted against this recommendation as it was not needed. This motion did not carry.

Dave Fuller – Councillor 

 

Without understanding the full requirement of the job, I am unable to comment. However, I believe that a councillor should be doing it more for the community than the money. At least I am.

Murry Krause – Councillor 

 

The Council Renumeration Committee reported that Prince George Councillors and Mayor are being paid less than comparative communities. Council did receive an increase to ensure that the renumeration would remain the same once Federal Income Tax provisions came into effect in 2019. The Committee recommended an additional 6% increase as of 2019, but Council did not support that recommendation.

Terri McConnachie – Councillor 

 

The role of a City Councillor is to represent the Citizens of Prince George and bring important issues to the table, make decisions on their behalf and to provide oversight regarding the management of the tax dollars and revenue required to run an efficient, healthy and safe community to provide a nice quality of life for all ages. It is a tall order. That being said, it is not a full time position and I don’t think the majority of citizens want eight more full time politicians at the table, in addition to the Mayor. A benefit of electing City Councillors to represent you, is that they each bring their own background, volunteer/work/life experience, knowledge and personal attributes to the table and they are not full time politicians or beurocrats. I think it is shortsighted to arrange your financial house around a position (Council salary) where the ultimate job review is hosted every four years. A large part of what a city Councillor does, is public service. I believe that the salary is more than adequate.

 

Cori Ramsay – Councillor 

 

Our city councillors are the lowest paid among our peer municipality group and other than adjusting remuneration for inflation and the removal of the taxable benefit by the federal government, our councillors have not received an increase in remuneration for over ten years. I would support a modest increase incrementally over a period of four years to bring our councillor remuneration up to the median remuneration among our peer municipalities.

 

Kyle Sampson – Councillor 

 

I believe that our City should look to attract the best people possible for positions around the Council table, as these are the people who will be the leaders of our community over the next 4 years. With that comes the need to offer fair compensation for their time and service. I think the compensation offered to Council is fair. Elected Councillors often, and are more than capable of holding a full time position in conjunction to serving their duties as a Councillor. The remuneration offered to Councillors is not set up to be their sole income.

Susan Scott – Councillor 

 

I believe that for what is thought of as a part-time job, the compensation is fine. While preparation, meetings and events may not add up to much more than 20-25 hours per week the public expectation of access is often higher. For me that meant reducing my outside job and it has now been eliminated. The most recent review of compensation resulted in council voting to increase wages to off-set changes to federal taxation that as of 2019 mean that council members will be taxed on 100% of their income. Last year’s federal budget changed the rules so that one-third of a council member’s monthly remuneration was no longer tax-free.

 

Paul Serup – Councillor 

 

City councillors should be paid what citizens decide in a referendum.

Brian Skakun – Councillor 

 

No our wages are good enough for the work we do.

 

Cameron Stolz – Councillor 

 

I think the Mayor and Council are paid well enough as it is.

Chris Wood – Councillor 

 

No, I do not think city councillors need to be paid higher salaries. I think it is the responsibility of city councillors to schedule their time wisely keeping in mind, the role is defined as part-time.

 

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