Orillia politicians nix pay hike

Recorded votes reject recommended increases for mayor and council
By NATHAN TAYLOR Orillia PACKET & TIMES September 9 2010
If future city councils get a raise, it will be no thanks to the current one.
At a special meeting Thursday, council voted down salary hikes for councillors and the mayor that were recommended by an ad-hoc citizens’ committee. Coun. Tim Lauer was one of the councillors who changed tunes on the recommended increases, which would have seen incremental increases for councillors (from $23,272 to $35,000) and the mayor (from $51,789 to $75,000) between 2011 and 2014.
“I have heard from many folks, and it’s not that I disagree with the report or the recommendations. It’s just a matter of process,” he said, adding he’d rather refer it to the next council.
Council voted on the recommended increases for mayor and councillors separately. The move to increase the mayor’s salary was defeated 6-3, while the councillors’ salary increase was defeated 7-2.
Voting in favour of the mayor’s salary increase were councillors Joe Fecht, Michael Fogarty and Wayne Gardy. Councillors Lauer, Ralph Cipolla, Don Evans, Maurice McMillan and Mayor Ron Stevens voted against it.
The vote for councillors’ salary increase was the same, with the exception of Gardy, who voted against it.
Fogarty again voiced his support for both increases.
“We need to make it, as a city, as easy as possible for people to run for council. Passion attracts you to this job — an idea to make change, not make money. However, once you are elected, this is a full-time job, one that requires a vast amount of time and energy,” he said, adding he doubted the new council would vote itself a raise. “Automatically, as an elected official, you would lose a tremendous amount of credibility.”
Evans and Spears agreed with Lauer that it wasn’t the time for council to OK a raise.
“I don’t think paying more attracts more. You either have it in you or you don’t,” Spears said.
Lauer moved to refer the report to the next council for consideration, but that didn’t get the support of council.
“There are times at this table when you have to show some leadership,” Fecht said in opposing the referral. “I’m disheartened to see that not enough members of this council are stepping forward and making a decision that they’re actually charged with.”
Fecht acknowledged it is “never a good time to talk about compensation for council and certainly not before an election.” However, while canvassing the community during his door-knocking campaign before the election, he said the response to the recommended raises was largely positive.