The remuneration of two Lévis municipal councilors has almost doubled between 2021 and 2022, due to their new tasks on the city’s executive committee.
The salaries of Isabelle Demers and Amélie Landry both increased from $61,153 to $114,580. These increases of 87% are the two largest percentage increases among Quebec municipal elected officials between 2021 and 2022.
“In 2021, we were regular advisors. In December 2021, after the elections, the mayor [Gilles Lehouillier] appoints us to the executive committee. In the City of Lévis, it’s around $60,000 just for the executive committee,” explains Isabelle Demers.
Mme Demers, who is now the elected official responsible for finances, explains that the workload that comes with being on the executive is commensurate with the salary.
“It’s more work, but above all more responsibilities. It’s 24 hours a day. The workload has more than doubled,” she assures.
Two jobs
Before 2022, Mmy Demers and Landry had another job in addition to that of municipal councilor in Lévis, which is the seventh largest municipality in Quebec.
“I no longer had a life. During my lunch hours, I responded to emails from citizens. I closed my computer at 5 p.m. and opened my city computer,” relates Isabelle Demers who had a 90% task for a financial institution.
The elected official explains that the remuneration of “regular” advisors was recently readjusted, going from approximately $61,000 to $71,000.
“We changed the structure precisely so that an advisor who is not in the executive can have a more attractive salary for someone who only wants to do that,” she says.
Even at this salary, two elected officials kept another job.
In Lévis, the salaries of elected executive officials and the mayor are capped. They do not receive remuneration for supramunicipal committees, such as the Metropolitan Community of Quebec.