Letter to the Editor

DEAR EDITOR:

I thought I was reading one of the Champion’s Time Capsule articles about a pay increase, but alas it was real and recent.

Milton councillors have now received three pay increases since taking office in 2006.

I understand completely that Town staff need to have salaries reviewed on a regular basis in order for them to be paid fairly for the work they do.

My only question is why does it have to include our town councillors?

When this council was elected in 2006, the base salary, not including the regional councillors’ portion, was roughly $21,000. From my calculations, they’re now being paid more than $26,000 — and that doesn’t include the council perk of having one-third of that salary tax free.

That’s a substantial increase in pay for a part-time position. Politics is perception, and I don’t think this will sit well with Milton taxpayers.

In the last three years, we have had three higher-than-normal increases in our mill rate — with what to show for it? We now have more Milton Transit buses that run empty throughout town, and for that they have spent more than $3 million in the last three years.

Milton taxpayers are now the proud owners of a Town Hall glass wall, albeit beautiful and majestic, that cost more than $1 million. They couldn’t have found something just as beautiful and majestic locally for much less?

And that’s just the tip of the iceberg, as there are many more examples of Milton council spending beyond its means.

How many more roads could have been developed for that money? Who knows? There’s been lots of spending and lots of taxes, but does that mean they deserve three pay increases in three years?

Elected officials on town council shouldn’t be included in the same pay grid as other Town employees. They should have a separate and distinct category due to the job type and to avoid any appearance of a conflict of interest.

Town councillors are a different kind of employee compared to other Town staff, seeing how they’re the only ones elected to their positions.

This way when salaries are reviewed annually, they won’t be able to vote for an increase in salary that would eventually benefit themselves.

Most municipalities, like Milton, use citizen advisory committees to come up with what their increases should be. But, in the case of the councillors, the pay increase should also take effect when the next council sits.

I don’t want to seem like I’m against paying a fair salary for our elected officials. There are many examples of how politicians at all levels are grossly underpaid for the amount of work they do.

But in the end, the salary for town councillors should remain the same throughout the term of council.

Some might say these increases are minor, and they probably would have an argument. We might hear some responses from members of council saying their job may be considered part-time but they put in more than normal amounts of hours working for their wards.

The problem is we’re in some pretty tough economic times right now, and municipalities need to focus on saving taxpayers dollars, not spending more when they could wait.

MIKE  CLUETT, MILTON