The population is often offended by the salaries of our elected officials, especially when it exceeds the symbolic figure of $ 100,000. What, my taxes are used to finance the heavy lifestyle of a minister, a mayor? Scandalous!
The desire of some new young mayors to reduce their remuneration puts this thorny issue back on the table. Among others, Stéphane Boyer, from Laval, and Catherine Fournier, from Longueuil, want to cut their pay by $ 30,000 and $ 65,000, respectively1.
I have a different opinion than the average bear on this. Why is it scandalous, for example, that the mayoress of Montreal earns $ 196,000 a year, tell me, knowing that she deals with complex issues on a daily basis, like the recent murders of teenagers?
Knowing that she is ultimately responsible for a budget of 6.2 billion, a city with 28,000 employees and 1.8 million inhabitants, and that she is therefore doing crazy weeks, with a stress level to match? After all, the mayoress earns 3.5 times the average salary in Quebec, not 165 times, like some bosses of companies listed on the stock exchange with the same number of employees.
In my opinion, on the contrary, Valérie Plante is not paid enough, as is the case of the Premier of Quebec, moreover ($ 206,000). But beware of her if an advisor dares to offer to increase his remuneration …
Not paying our elected officials adequately risks costing more in the end. Some elected officials, to compensate, could be tempted by brown envelopes. Or, “round up” certain municipal bylaws so as not to scratch businesses that are likely to hire them after they have been in politics.
However, the inconsistency in the relative remuneration of mayors is equally deplorable. How to justify the fact that the outgoing mayor of Blainville, whose budget is close to 100 million, earned $ 184,000, almost as much as Valérie Plante ($ 196,000), responsible for a budget 60 times larger? Or that the former mayor of Quebec Régis Labeaume ($ 187,000), who had much heavier responsibilities?
To better understand the question, it should be noted that the Quebec Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing (MAMH) has little control over the remuneration of elected officials. Since 2018, by law, it is up to cities to set the salaries of their mayors and other elected officials.
According to the MAMH information site, “the remuneration must be fixed by a regulation of the municipal council adopted by a two-thirds majority, including the vote of the mayor or the mayor”. This remuneration must be published on the City’s website and in its annual financial report. The disclosure must include, in particular, the base salary, the expense allowance and the sums paid for the functions held in a supramunicipal body.2.
Before 2018, the MAMH set a minimum and maximum salary for elected officials, depending on the number of inhabitants, but since 2018, there is no longer a maximum.
Very good. The problem is that today, the salaries of the mayors of the main cities are similar, even if their responsibilities, the complexity of their tasks and the size of the cities vary considerably.
The Union of Quebec Municipalities (UMQ) designed a guide a few years ago, which takes into account various criteria.
Instead of relying solely on the number of inhabitants, the UMQ thus proposed to establish a remuneration zone linked to the complexity of the municipality. Five criteria are used to assess this complexity: the population served, the services provided (police, fire safety, arena, etc.), the presence of local or regional partners in the territory (hospitals, schools, CEGEPs, etc.), the surface area of the territory and, finally, the geographical aspects of the territory.
Based on these criteria, the UMQ suggested, for 2015, a range of remuneration for mayors. For 2021, if inflation is taken into account, the range would oscillate between $ 60,000 and $ 129,000 for cities of 50,000 to 100,000 inhabitants, to which an expense allowance and a retirement plan may be added. .
For cities of larger size, the UMQ considers that its tool is ill-suited. A refreshed guide is expected to be offered in the first months of 2022.
In short, under this tool, the mayor of a city of less than 75,000 inhabitants, for example, should earn $ 129,000, no more. In fact, the ceiling would be set at $ 103,000 for towns with fewer than 50,000 inhabitants.
What to think, then, of the salary of the mayor of Varennes, Martin Damphousse, who received $ 205,269 in 2020 when the municipality has some 21,500 inhabitants? Or that of La Prairie (26,500 inhabitants), which won nearly $ 140,000 in 2020?
The swelling of the pay of the latter is explained by their presence on supraregional committees, well paid, a situation which is not taken into account in the guide of the UMQ. The question remains: to what extent is the role of the mayors of these small towns not, precisely, to sit on regional councils, for which they receive their basic salary? Or, is it their base salary which is then too high?
In any event, it would be desirable for mayors’ remuneration to be better adjusted to the relative size and complexity of their city. Some salaries in medium-sized municipalities appear excessive, but that of Montreal, on the other hand, is obviously far too low to serve as a benchmark.
From now on, it could be possible that the pay of around $ 190,000 for Quebec, Laval and Longueuil serve as a benchmark ceiling for the rest of the cities. To meditate.
1. Their total compensation would thus go from some $ 249,000 to $ 185,000 for Catherine Fournier and from $ 221,000 to some $ 190,000 for Stéphane Boyer.
2. The employer’s contribution to the pension plan of elected officials is not included in the remuneration made public. Most mayors of large municipalities are subject to the Retirement Plan of Elected Municipal Officers (RREM), whose pension credit amount allocated for a given year is equivalent to 2% of the eligible salary.