Pay Councillors What They’re Worth: CRERAR

Each municipal election cycle we hear a candidate say: “I’m not running because of the money. In fact, if I win the election, I’ll get paid less than I make in my current job.”

So, why are these altruistic councilors considering giving themselves a double-digit pay increase? Or didn’t all the candidates with big hearts win their ward last time around?

Before discussing the proposed pay increase let’s examine some facts. In 2023 councilors were paid $111,111, in 2024 this amount increased to $116,735, and then their salary rose again to $119,654 in 2025, a total increase of 7.5 per cent over three years. Additionally, each city councillor has a budget of approximately $284,648 to manage constituency services and office operations, so none of these expenses has to be paid out of their take home pay.

Since city council is already driving city residents into the poorhouse with their bad decisions and ineffective use of public funds on a number of ill-advised projects, maybe a course in money management would better serve the residents of Ottawa rather than a blanket financial reward.

As an operational manager in the private sector, I had an annual salary budget to spread around 130 people come pay review time. In order to make the distribution of funds fair, I ranked all staff in order of performance from one through 130. Twenty per cent of the budget  was doled out to the top 13 performers (10 per cent of the workers). The remaining 80 per cent intended for salary increases was then distributed to the next 75 per cent of my staff. The bottom 15 per cent of staff, those considered to be the lowest performers, received no pay increase for the year. If a person finished in the bottom 15 per cent in two successive years they were fired. Most people who received no increase in the first year began working more effectively although some left the group seeking greener pastures.

So why should all city councillors receive a blanket pay increase when they’re not all equally effective at their jobs? The answer is simple. It’s an easy solution.

Many years ago the Ottawa Citizen published a biennial report card for every city councilor giving each one a grade from A+ to F along with an explanation for the ranking. I  propose using a panel of third party judges to determine how each councilor is performing their job and how much value and vision they provide city residents.

Money can be allocated to each councilor based on their performance as defined through pre-determined criteria. Some of these criteria will add to a councilor’s overall performance (for example actionable plans that move the city forward within a reasonable timeframe). Others will take away money from any potential bonus (for example showboating a la Councillor Tim Tierney or others getting caught using a cell phone or attending meetings while driving). There will also be years in which no councillor receives a bonus (for example a year in which a $36-million funding gap in the city budget is left unresolved.

A plan along these lines rewards the good councilors and provides incentive to those performing below expectation to tighten up their mukluks.

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