Mayor money: Sudbury's Brian Bigger makes almost as much as Toronto's John Tory

Timmins -

Some city officials in northern Ontario have prompted a look at mayors' salaries in the province, and it appears Sudbury's Brian Bigger was compensated almost as much as Toronto mayor John Tory in 2020.

Factoring in salary and benefits, city reports show Bigger earned around $229,000 last year, while Tory took home around $244,000. Numbers from the Ontario Sunshine List differ, showing $181,500 and $198,800, respectively.

City staff in Greater Sudbury told CTV News that compensation for members of council is approved during each budget exercise and typically increases at the same rate as unionized staff.

"Salaries for members of council are reviewed periodically against a set of municipal comparators having similar populations and service offerings," city communications manager Maggie Frampton said in an email.

"The last time this exercise was completed was in 2017 when taxation changes were applied to members of council in accordance with changes in provincial legislation."

That taxation change refers to the elimination of allowing elected officials to have one-third of their salaries be tax-exempt.

Sudbury city councillor Mike Jakubo told CTV News that change led to increased salaries for many councils across the province.

"Previous councils had decided that if this (tax exemption) were ever to be removed ... that this compensatory increase would take place," Jakubo said in an email.

"That led to the increase in council wages, including the mayor’s salary."

Timmins city councillor Andrew Marks recently requested a report comparing Mayor George Pirie's salary with that of other major northern cities and comparable municipalities around Ontario.

He said the goal is to ensure that the mayor's salary is competitive and to approve the role's compensation before the next municipal election in late 2022.

"To make sure that the mayor's salary is at the right level for our size of city and for comparable (cities) around us," Marks said.

"We're trying to find the very best person to be the mayor of the City of Timmins, to represent all of us."

Comparing data from cities around the region, Pirie is the second-highest paid mayor in the northeast, behind Bigger.

The salaries of the northeast's major city mayors are as follows:

Brian Bigger, Greater Sudbury

Salary - $180,448

Benefits - $48,425

Total - $228,873

George Pirie, Timmins

Salary - $98,409

Expenses - $3,376

Total - $101,786

Christian Provenzano, Sault Ste Marie

Salary - $75,124

Car allowance - $4,913

Training/Travel - $2,220

Total - $82,257

Al McDonald, North Bay

Salary - $69,974

Benefits - $10,070

Expenses - $920

Total - $80,965

Comparing some other Ontario cities, the City of Barrie paid its mayor around $180,000 in total last year, when including benefits and a role on the board of power company Alectra.

Niagara Falls compensated its mayor around $117,000, according to the Sunshine List, though reports show the actual number being closer to $163,000.

Marks said he wants to ensure the mayor's salary can attract quality candidates, especially for those that would be giving up a larger salary at their previous job, and he would support leaving the salary as-is if it is already up to par.

"This is an important position and Timmins should have the best mayor that we possibly can— and those skills come with a price tag," he said.