Victoria City Council reluctantly agreed to a $90,000 budget for an assistant to Mayor Lisa Helps.
In ThursdayB次元官网网址檚 committee of the whole, and following in a late council meeting, the originally-proposed motion put forward by Helps asking for $120,000 was whittled down to $90,000 for the Head of Strategy and Operations role. The salary would be topped an additional 20 per cent for benefits and pension.
Helps, who has not had an assistant in her role as mayor, reasoned that previous mayors Dean Fortin and Alan Lowe both had similar employees who earned on average $80,000, and argued that the qualifications for these individuals were lower than her desired candidate. The people holding the role previously required a bachelorB次元官网网址檚 degree and three years experience, while Helps is seeking someone with a masterB次元官网网址檚 degree and 10 years experience to act in her stead when she is away, and to assist her in ongoing municipal duties.
READ MORE:
In the committee of the whole meeting, council voted to have the salary down to $80,000, a number Helps felt was inadequate enough to forgo the hiring process altogether.
B次元官网网址淚 donB次元官网网址檛 need a junior person, I need a senior person,B次元官网网址� Helps said. B次元官网网址淚f council wants to approve a salary of $80,000 it goes to the job description from previous eras. ThatB次元官网网址檚 fine, if thatB次元官网网址檚 what council wants to do thatB次元官网网址檚 councilB次元官网网址檚 prerogative, but I wonB次元官网网址檛 hire that person. I donB次元官网网址檛 need that person.B次元官网网址�
Later, at the beginning of council, Coun. Sharmarke Dubow motioned an amendment for $100,000, where Coun. Ben Isitt moved to amend it down to $90,000.
Only 34 per cent of unionized City staff make $80,000 or more. This does not include councillors, who will earn $44,062 in renumeration in 2019, where the mayor will make over $110,156 before expenses.
READ MORE:
B次元官网网址淚 think we need some context on what most people in our community make,B次元官网网址� said Coun. Ben Isitt. B次元官网网址淚 think the assumption that you can only get very good people for very large sums of money is false.B次元官网网址�
Isitt also suggested that any one of the councillors could act as deputy mayor in HelpsB次元官网网址� absence, so that an elected official could carry on actions and hold more accountability, though the topic did not move further.
Council voted eight-to-one, with Coun. Geoff Young opposed, to the two-year contract of $90,000 plus benefits.
B次元官网网址淭his would put them on par with the most well-compensated assistants to cabinet ministers,B次元官网网址� Isitt said. B次元官网网址淚 think itB次元官网网址檚 completely a reasonable amount. B次元官网网址�
Send a Tweet:
Like us on
