Pay St. John's councillors more: report

An independent report is recommending that St. John's city councillors be given a pay hike, just as council itself is planning to raise taxes.

Under the proposal, salaries for councillors — most of whom have other sources of income — would rise 4.5 per cent, bring a councillor's salary to about $38,000.

The deputy mayor's pay would be almost $50,000 and the mayor's salary would reach almost $100,000.

Salaries at council are reviewed each year by an outside consultant.

There has been little public talk from the current members of council about a possible pay hike. Former councillor Keith Coombs said the raise is acceptable as long as the process is open.

"I think it's more important that the process, you know, that they have is transparent … and that it shows that it's been upheld," Coombs told CBC news.

But Simon Lono, a city hall watchdog and a former candidate, said the size of the proposed raise is too high.

"The inflation rate hasn't gone up 4.5 per cent," he said.

"Are they doing 4.5 per cent more work? You don't get more money just because you've been around longer. You get more money if you produce more. They're not doing 4.5 per cent more work."

Councillors are not expected to vote on the issue until March.

In the meantime, council is expected to approve a five per cent increase in residential property taxes at next Monday's residential meeting. The move would see the city's residential mill rate increase from 10.1 to 10.6.