Simcoe County councillors will get more bang for their buck and it's not sitting well with Premier Doug Ford.
Earlier this week, county councillors approved a phased-in pay increase over three years, beginning in 2025, to boost their base salary and meeting per diem from $18,079 to $47,717. This would bring the wages of county councillors into the 60th percentile compared to politicians at other county and regional governments in Ontario.
Ford, who was at an unrelated news conference in Oshawa on Friday, lashed out at county council for approving the salary spike.
"They voted themselves, are you ready for this one, a 167 per cent increase in salary. Wouldn't it be great if we could all just increase our salary?"
A reporter asked Ford at Friday's news conference about recent school board spending scandals, and from there, he tore a strip off the decision made by county councillors on Tuesday to jack salaries.
"It's like the fox taking care of the hen house," said the premier. "This has to stop. That's what frustrates me when you're wasting taxpayers money and then you're out on the other side screaming that you need more money. Stop blowing the taxpayers money and be responsible."
Not every councillor at this week's meeting lined up in favour of the pay boost.
"I am having a problem with the percentage of increase. I realize that it will be for the next council, but still it comes from the pockets of the ratepayers of Simcoe County," said Severn Township Deputy Mayor Judith Cox during Tuesday's county council meeting. "With the economy the way it is now, I can't in good faith for the residents of Simcoe County go with such a high increase."
Midland Mayor Bill Gordon said a number wasn't wildly picked out of the blue.
"This is a comprehensive review of what other municipalities tasked with the same work we are doing are paying their representatives," Gordon said at Tuesday's meeting. "It's just getting us to, you know, not to the top of the list but just catching us up. The longer we wait, the bigger that hit is going to be. I'd be against voting for anything that saw me getting an increase this term. I signed up for this and I knew what I was getting paid. I don't need an increase midstream."
Collingwood Mayor Yvonne Hamlin supported a pay increase for the next term and argued it was a way to encourage the younger generation to "step up."
"Those who are working full time take off from those jobs to sit as councillors and county council. We should at least be attempting to match some of the funds they are losing," she told Tuesday's council meeting. "It shouldn't be a prerequisite for sitting on a local council that you don't need any other income or you're retired. As the (baby) boomers are aging out--I confess, I am one--we have to start encouraging the younger generation that are still working to come and step into these positions, and I think we need to increase the salary to reflect that."
Essa Township Mayor Sandie MacDonald, who also spoke at the meeting, said the increment was too large for anyone to receive.
Simcoe County Warden Basil Clarke in a statement this week called the discussion about the salary increase "challenging," though he felt it was important to make the decision before the next election.
"Simply put, the previous rate of compensation for our councillors and head of council was significantly behind other municipalities of similar size, service delivery, and governing oversight. This is due to making no changes to council salaries for the past several years, despite the continual rise of inflation and the cost of living."
If a new council structure is approved and the warden's position is made full-time, the base salary will climb to $181,800 starting in 2026. The warden's current salary is $86,251. The deputy warden's base salary would remain at $55,041.
