Prince Edward County councillors will continue work with their current salaries.
On Thursday, Prince Edward County Committee of the Whole debated amongst themselves whether the councillor remuneration should be increased to $35,300 for 2023.
Councillor Kate MacNaughton, who brought the item to council said the increased salary would be closer to councils in similar situations to Prince Edward County.
MacNaughton says an increase in salary will allow for more diverse residents in the community to take more interest in running for council.
“What I’m concerned about is access to entry, so that anyone can enter.”
The increase to $35,300 a year would be a $10,000 bump up from a councillor’s current remuneration of $25,300.
With a new council election fast approaching and current economic strains, many councillors felt as though the raise would be a waste of county budget and not in the best interest of the public.
Councillor Jamie Forrester said he believes municipal councillors should be focused on serving the community rather than wages.
“The last thing I would like to see this job become in the future is for us to have professional councillors to say you know what? I’m going to do this because I can make a good living at this. We already see this at the federal level and we already see this at the provincial level, I sure don’t want to see it at the municipal level.”
Councillors in Belleville earn around $35,000 a year with the mayor’s pay being over $100,000. In Quinte West the mayor’s salary is $65,000 with councillors earning $26,000.
Council chose to leave future talks of council remuneration to next term’s council.
