Sudbury councillors call for study of local politicians' pay

Sudbury -

A Greater Sudbury city councillor is calling for an independent look at how much local politicians earn in salary.

The last time there was an independent review on compensation was 2005, and Ward 11 Coun. Bill Leduc said a review is overdue.

"It's not the remuneration but our benefits, too," Leduc said.

"I want to make sure we are looking at municipalities that are single-tier and not two-tier municipalities and that we're properly compensated for work we're doing as council and as mayor."

Leduc said it's important to him that the work be done by an outside, independent HR firm. His comments come after recent media reports that Sudbury Mayor Brian Bigger makes almost as much as the mayor of Toronto.

Other councillors said they support the idea of a review, but said it's not just salaries they should be looking at.

"If you look at the number of hours most councillors are putting in to serve their residents and constituents, the money is certainly not an incentive," said Ward 8 Coun. Al Sizer.

Ward 1 Coun. Mark Signoretti said salaries for non-union staff should be part of the review.

"We got to remember whether it's council, mayor or all employees at city hall, we're all paid by one envelope," he said.

Bigger said he's not opposed to a review but said a much larger governance review is needed that includes compensation and it should be done next term.

"A governance review would answer many questions that the public have had and individual councillors have had about ward boundaries and full time versus part-time," he said.

It's important to note that recent changes to taxation have actually reduced the take-home pay of councillors and has also impacted the mayor's bottom line.