This text is part of the special section Municipalities
Between 2002 and 2018, the municipality of Saint-Colomban saw its population increase from 5,000 to 18,000 inhabitants. But it’s not just demography that has exploded: the responsibilities of the mayor and the elected members of the city council as well, with the big difference in their salaries. Arrived at the town hall of Saint-Colomban in 2013 as a municipal councilor, Xavier-Antoine Lalande has held the chair of mayor of the small municipality of the Laurentians since 2017. His experience allows him to testify to the fact that the reality of the profession and the tasks that accompany it has changed a lot since the time when the town hall was mainly responsible for “snow removal and residual collection”. According to him, it is high time to speak openly about the remuneration of elected municipal officials.
“Today, the development challenges are more complex,” he explains. “We have to think about how to develop our territory, make thoughtful choices in terms of infrastructure and planning. A growing municipality also sees its budget increase, and the financial rigor that this requires is not the same between a village and a city. »
A full-time position
Because mayor, “it’s a special job,” says Xavier-Antoine Lalande. On May 12, he will take part in a conference on the theme of compensation, presented at the UMQ conference. On this panel, he will come to testify to the reality of what the role of elected representative represents: “a position that one occupies 24 hours a day, 7 days a week”.
“Citizens want local and autonomous governments, and it’s the same in municipal councils. We [les élus] wants to feel responsible for our own decisions, that we have powers because we have the legitimacy to occupy them. As mayor, I want to get involved in decision-making. It is our responsibility to determine the place we want to occupy, and to be comfortable with the remuneration we have. »
People don’t know it, but in small towns the mayor is often the lowest paid person on the council.
The Union of Quebec Municipalities (UMQ) recently commissioned the firm PCI remuneration-advisor to update a guide to the remuneration of elected municipal officials, designed in harmony with the responsibilities associated with the position, the financial capacity and the characteristics of the municipality.
“People don’t know it, but in small towns, the mayor is often the lowest paid person on the council,” reveals Xavier-Antoine Lalande. It’s ok if you see this role as an extra income, but in reality, it has become a real full-time position. It requires an income to match. »
An increase in responsibilities that is not only linked to the increase in the population, adds Mr. Lalande. There are elected officials who take over villages of 1,000 people and work to improve their quality of life, without necessarily having to increase the population. Knowing how to ensure that your municipality becomes very popular, “it’s worth something. »
A brake on passion
This value is Marc Chartrand and his team of PCI remuneration-advisors who were mandated to determine it. He too will be part of the panel organized by the UMQ. Its work resulted in a salary recommendation grid, which takes into account various criteria such as population, property wealth, complexity of responsibilities or the presence of public services. Then, it is up to the municipal councils themselves to vote on the salary granted to mayors and elected officials. The guide serves as a basic tool for setting these remunerations. According to Mr. Chartrand, there is “a big underestimation, in small and medium-sized towns, of what the job of mayor requires. »
“In speaking with the UMQ, we quickly understood that everything to do with economic development and the environment, these are issues that were little talked about twenty years ago in the town halls of small towns, says Marc Chartrand. To attract talented people, who have the skills and the desire to make a difference, it takes a decent salary. To diversify the municipal councils too, the salary becomes a key. »
Because ultimately, the objective “is not for people to go into politics for pay, but to ensure that remuneration does not represent a hindrance for those who have a passion for public service”, concludes Marc Chartrand.