London councillors approve task force to reconsider how much they're paid

London City Council voted unanimously on Tuesday to establish a task force to review councillor compensation and workload as the city continues to grow.

The pay review was welcomed by some councillors, who last year told CBC News their pay is behind that of councillors in similar-sized cities, while also failing to account for long hours and growing workloads.

The motion to move forward with the 2025 Council Resourcing Review Task Force included a selection process that saw city staff present council with a list of five Londoners who will serve on the force. 

Last June, Coun. Elizabeth Peloza and Deputy Mayor Shawn Lewis both expressed their support during the preliminary stages of the process. They said the workloads for what had often been considered a part-time position has grown over time alongside the city. Both said they wanted their compensation to reflect that growth.

The task force will review and provide recommendations for several policies and expectations councillors work under. Those include the policies that control councillor base pay — currently around $65,000 per year — as well as how that pay scales with time and responsibilities. It will also explore how much councillors will be paid as severance if removed from their role.

Further to compensation, the task force will review councillors's job descriptions, workload, how much they're expected to work, and opportunities to balance workloads across the council. That includes consideration of how much support they should receive in terms of staffing.

The review would also look at how much money from the city's coffers councillors are allowed to spend annually on expenses, like courses, equipment, transportation and assistants, a sum that currently stands at $13,500 as of January 1, 2025.

According to a memo given to council by the city clerk, the appointees were selected based on a combination of their skills, decision-making, communication capabilities, availability, education, and experience in politics, human resources and serving on committees.

The list of appointees presented to council includes:

• Dane Ferry, Western University's Student Union's manager of government services.
• Mariam Hamou, a former city councillor and member of numerous boards.
• Martin Horak, a Western University professor who researches local government and municipal politics.
• Jennifer Slay, King's University College's director of EDI and decolonization, who served on the city's Anti-Hate Task Force.
• Jared Zaifman, CEO of the London Home Builder's Association and a former councillor, who has experience adjusting job roles, descriptions, and salaries.

According to a document outlining its responsibilities, the task force has direction to begin working "as soon as possible," and members will be paid $100 per meeting.

It will be disbanded no later than October 2025, when the Strategic Priorities and Policy Committee receives its final report of findings and recommendations.