Peterborough city council voted on Monday evening (April 28) to approve a staff report proposing a 60 per cent raise for the mayor and a 52 per cent raise councillors for the next term of council.
Similar to last Tuesday’s general committee meeting, councillors voted in favour of a report from Richard Freymond, the city’s commissioner or finance and corporate services, that recommends a “reset” of base compensation for council.
As was the case with the general committee meeting, councillor Gary Baldwin made a motion to defer the report that, again with no discussion by other councillors, was defeated.
Based on a comparison of 2023 pay rates for mayors and councillors in 14 other single, upper, and lower-tier municipalities across Ontario, commissioner Freymond’s report recommends that remuneration for Peterborough city council be based on the 75th percentile of the 2023 pay rates in those municipalities.
When adjusted for inflation using CUPE collective bargaining settlements, that would result in compensation for the mayor of $147,631 in 2026, an increase of 59.8 per cent over what the mayor will be paid in 2025, and $54,991 for each councillor in 2026, an increase of 52 per cent over what each councillor will be paid in 2025.
In addition to the pay increase, which would only take effect for the 2026-2030 term of council starting in December 2026, the report recommends that compensation for the mayor and councillors be increased each December for the remainder of council’s term, equal to the inflationary increase provided to CUPE staff bargaining groups.
The report also recommends a 17.4 per cent increase for the vehicle/transportation allowance for both the mayor and councillors, from $5,112 to $6,000 for the mayor and from to $2,556 to $3,000 for each councillor.
The only registered delegation to speak to the report, Peterborough resident Jim Austin, expressed his “strong opposition” and suggested that only councillors who would commit to not seeking re-election should be able to vote on the report.
“It strikes me as a huge conflict of interest that councillors can vote and implement a new compensation package for themselves, if they choose to run again and are successful in that re-election,” he said.
He also proposed that only councillors elected for the first time should receive the full increase, and that re-elected councillors should receive a 12.5 per cent increase each year. He said only a newly elected mayor should receive the full increase, with a re-elected mayor receiving an increase of 15 per cent each year.
Councillor Joy Lachica asked Austin if he was aware how many hours councillors are working in what is supposed to be a part-time position, that the compensation works out to either at or just below minimum wage, and that existing compensation may dissuade some people from running for council.
“I think that sometimes catch-up needs to be done and, for a four-year term for those people who may see a future around the (council) table, I think that’s important,” she said.
When the item came forward for consideration later in the meeting, councillor Baldwin made the same motion to defer the report that he did at the general committee meeting.
“I don’t know if other councillors have received telephone calls or emails with respect to the councillor compensation report,” Baldwin said. “I have received some feedback from the community … the feedback I’ve received has not been favourable with respect to the report.”
Baldwin noted that council “struggled” with passing on a 6.75 per cent increase to the taxpayer during the 2025 budget deliberations, repeating his comment from general committee that using a 50th percentile rather than 75th percentile was more appropriate.
“We’re looking at a substantial increase in pay for part-time work,” he said, adding that councillors also already have a benefit package, a nine per cent “pension match,” and a subsidy for internet costs, with the report also recommending a vehicle allowance increase. “To me, this is too rich. I don’t know anybody in Peterborough that got a 52 per cent or a 60 per cent increase in pay.”
Baldwin said he spoke to some of his colleagues “who are working 40 hours per week, full-time, making somewhere in the 40 to 41 thousand dollar range — and they don’t have any benefits.”
He suggested that commissioner Freymond return to council with three options.
“We were given one option, and that option I can’t support,” Baldwin said. “That’s the reason I want to defer it.”
As he did at general committee, councillor Keith Riel immediately called the question on Baldwin’s motion, a procedural move to cut off any discussion and bring the motion to an immediate vote.
After voting 7-4 in support of calling the question, with councillors Baldwin, Kevin Duguay, Andrew Beamer, and Dave Haacke voting against it, councillors voted 8-3 against Baldwin’s motion, with Baldwin, Haacke, and Mayor Jeff Leal voting in favour of the deferral.
Council then voted on the report, with no further discussion, voting 8-3 in favour, with Baldwin, Leal, and Haacke voting against it. Leal and Haacke switched their votes from the general committee meeting, when they had voted in favour of the report.
