The next Toronto Mayoral election is in October and all of the candidates have pledged to freeze their pay as Mayor and reject a pay increase. However, a new consultants report is suggesting that the next Mayor of Toronto receive a 9.4 percent, or $16,000, raise, according to the
Globe and Mail.
The Toronto Mayor currently earns $167,769.94 annually before benefits. The group says on Dec. 1, 2010, when the next Mayor is sworn in, that pay should be increased to $183,604.
“Toronto is the largest city in Canada and is more than twice the population of the second largest municipality,” the report states. “The Mayor has the largest voters’ base of any politician in Canada. This factor should be considered in determining the Mayor’s salary.”
Mayors of Montreal, Ottawa, Edmonton, Calgary and Mississauga all earn more than the Mayor of Toronto.
CP24 reports that that consultants group are recommending no change to councillors pay, which is just under $100,000.
Mayoral candidate Rocco Rossi told
680 News: “Politics is a high calling, but it should be a time of service, it's not a career, and the moment you start looking at it as a career, that's when people start worrying about the salary, the pension and the benefits, as opposed to serving the people.”
