Fredericton council moving forward with potential pay increase

Fredericton city council is moving forward with its examination of a pay hike for city councillors.

Council voted last night to have city staff draft a bylaw that would see councillors' salary go up.

Greg Ericson, chair of the city's finance and administration committee, said this is to make up for recent changes to tax law, taking away non-taxable allowances.

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Councillors will now consider whether to approve the pay hike or not.

"There's lots to consider. I look at the tax load our citizens have. Will the amount of pay that we increase be a burden?" said Ericson.

"I also look at how other councils that are comparator group have treated with the issue, and then you know to be honest I am looking at the adequacyfor work done."

Follows Saint John move

Previously, one-third of the mayor and councillors' salaries had beentax-free,but changes in federal tax rules have made it so that's no longer the case.

In November, Saint John council voted to increasetheir pay by about 10 per cent to make up for income lost from the tax changes.

If approved, the salary for councillors would go up by $3,229.33, for the deputy mayor it would go up $4,036.69, and for the mayor, his pay would rise by $8,683.

Ericson worries a lower pay would make it more difficult to get qualified people to run for council.

"I think it's an important consideration," said Ericson, who said he would reconsider running for council again if it didn't go through.

"Insufficient pay is always on the list of problems that people reflect on when they're asked why they don't get involved in municipal politics."

City staff will now draft up a bylaw, which will come before council.

There the public will be able to make their opinions on the matter heard before council finally votes on the increase.