Peter Kelly, former Halifax mayor, conducts Charlottetown council pay review

City councillors in Charlottetown are getting a bump in pay thanks to a non-tendered independent review that was conducted by Peter Kelly, the former mayor of Halifax.

Kelly served as mayor between 2000 and 2012, but did not reoffer in 2012 after being embroiled in controversies toward the end of his time as mayor. The controversies included the Halifax Common concert scandal where a promoter was advanced $400,000 without the knowledge of Halifax council, as well as criticism over how he handled his role as executor of the estate of a Bedford woman.

Roy Main, Charlottetown's chief administrative officer, said Kelly was sought out to perform a review of local councillors' pay because of his knowledge and experience.

"It was an issue of looking for people who understood the business and Peter has extensive knowledge. He's still involved in local government," said Main.

Last September, Kelly began working as the CAO of Westlock, a county in Alberta.

Clifford Lee, Charlottetown's mayor, says council reached out to numerous people in the Charlottetown area to do the review, but nobody was interested. He says a few council members were tasked with coming up with some names.

"Peter's name was one of the names we thought of and [we] touched base with him and he was willing to do it," said Lee.

Lee says that he had dealings with Kelly when Kelly was Halifax's mayor.

The review wasn't put out to tender because its value was less than what is required under Charlottetown's tendering and procurement policy, says Lee.

"It was a small contract," he said and pegged its value at "a couple thousand dollars."

No mention of mayor in bio

In the section of the 26-page review containing the author biography, Kelly does not identify himself as the former mayor of Halifax. He mentions that he has more than 30 years of "senior management and consultant experience," as well as his work on many boards and committees which has left "lasting legacies during his public and private sector work."

Kelly said while his author biography made no mention of his time as an elected official, it points out that he has extensive experience in municipal government.

"It's one that if one knows the name as you do, it's also well known as well," he told CBC News on Tuesday.

Kelly said this was the first time he conducted consulting salary review work for a municipality, but said he has done other consulting work for businesses. The recent work for Charlottetown involved travel to the city, said Kelly, adding the report was done on his own time.

Kelly's recommendations were accepted by Charlottetown council Monday evening.

"I think that speaks for council's satisfaction with his report being fair and thorough and reasonable. He looked at all the forms of compensation, from monetary to benefits," said Main.

Review findings

The review found growing expectations and demands on councillors outside of attending regular meetings. A survey of similar-sized cities found the mayor, deputy mayor and councillors in Charlottetown were getting paid up to 12 per cent below the average.

Effective immediately, the mayor's salary will be increased by $7,000, councillors by $6,000 and the deputy mayor by $5,000.

Council members will also be receiving the same benefits package as the city's non-union management employees. 

The last compensation review for Charlottetown council happened in 2007.