Here's the salary of every mayor and councillor in British Columbia

The cost of everything is high in Metro Vancouver — including, it seems, salaries for mayors and councillors. 

A CBC News analysis of the 2021 salary of every mayor and councillor in British Columbia showed that local politicians in Metro Vancouver were paid significantly higher than those in the rest of the province with similar population sizes. 

All told, 15 of the 16 highest-paid mayors in B.C. were in the Lower Mainland, topped by Coquitlam's Richard Stewart at $183,365. (The full list of salaries is at the bottom of this story.)

Most of the others at the top were in large municipalities, but not all of them: in West Vancouver, Mayor Mary-Ann Booth made nearly $30,000 more than Vernon Mayor Victor Cumming, despite both communities having similar populations of just over 44,000. 

The biggest deviation from the provincial average was Langley City (population 28,963), where the mayor and councillors made close to double that of their counterparts in similarly-sized municipalities like Penticton, North Cowichan and West Kelowna.

"We have a lot of things that we address here being as part of Metro Vancouver that you don't have in those communities," said Langley City Coun. Nathan Pachal, who is running for mayor.

Langley City's compensation for mayor and council is tied to the median amount paid for mayors across Metro Vancouver — with Langley councillors receiving 40 per cent of what the mayor makes — and Pachal argued the role of a local politician was equivalent to a full-time job. 

"There are a lot more responsibilities today when you're in local government," he said, adding that higher levels of government had downloaded more responsibility onto cities.

"Ten years ago, it might be looking at the budget, voting on some roads, looking at some places to improve. Now, we're really dealing with a lot of social issues in our community."

'I'm not sure if I can afford to run again'

But outside Metro Vancouver, being a councillor is still compensated as a part-time position, with virtually every town paying somewhere between $5,000 and $30,000 a year.

And that can cause tensions.

"I'm not sure if I can afford to run again," said Revelstoke Coun. Nicole Cherlet, who lives in the community of 8,000 people facing population and affordability pressures.

A first-term councillor, Cherlet says she was forced to close her retail business a few months ago after three years of trying to balance her full-time job with a council position that paid $16,608 in 2021.

"Both of those were taking up quite a bit of strategic brainpower, and I felt like I was not able to perform to my full capacity at either," said Cherlet. 

Cherlet estimates she spends 20 hours a week on council work, which works out to less than $16 an hour. In 2020 council voted to raise their salaries by $10,000 over three years; council subsequently scrapped the proposal after community backlash and are waiting on a new independent report on what to be done.

"I would love to be at that table for another four years. The stuff that's coming through from senior governments and where we are as a community, the next four years are going to be exciting," said Cherlet, adding that the result of the report might determine whether she runs again.

"But we almost got [evicted] last fall, and I can't afford to stay at this point."

Full-time or not? 

How salaries are determined is different in each municipality. Some councils hire an external group to issue recommendations, others decide through an internal committee. Some compare their salaries to neighbouring communities, while some compare to those with similar populations. Some have increases tied to inflation, while others do not.

But the biggest philosophical debate is often whether the positions should be paid like a full-time job.

"We really have senior staff management and the mayor there more in full-time roles," said Comox Coun. Nicole Minions.

Earlier this year, she voted in favour of increasing the salary of mayor by around 30 per cent, to $58,275 a year. But she voted against raising her own salary by less than five per cent to $26,371.

"Our average council meeting is two hours long, once a week," said Minions, after making a joke about Vancouver's regular multi-day council meetings.

"We sit on appointments and we go to events and things like that. But I really don't see where you would have seven full-time people thinking about strategizing for a community of our size."

At the same time, Minions said it was important to strike a balance so that people of all ages and professions feel they could run for office.

Cherlet argued that if municipalities don't, they'll suffer.

"There's a large segment of our population that thinks government representation should be done out of the goodness of your heart and your love for your community," said Cherlet. 

"And then on the other hand people get upset about politicians and struggle to trust them. But we've set up a system that the only people that can afford to run are the wealthy."