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Pay Hike Doesn't Bother This Voter
 Posted
3/29/2010 11:49:00 PM
So, council voted 11-7 in favour of a 5% "pay hike".
There will probably be an uproar about this, but, it doesn't bother me all that much.
You always hear "Look at the politicians, voting themselves a pay raise!" Usually, I'd agree, but hear me out on this one.
I spoke to a few members of council about this vote, and they all said that this "raise" amounts to less than 30,000 dollars in the grand scheme of things.
I know that's a lot of money to most people. It's a lot to me. But, divided by 19, it doesn't add up all that fast.
Also - as far as London's budget goes.... not a lot of cash.
On top of that, when councillors voted in favour of their 5% pay cut a year and a half ago, they all agreed to look at it again in 2010. The money is already in the budget.
11 councillors say London is in better shape than it was a year ago, which is probably is.
7 said that it isn't, or that their constituents wouldn't be happy with a "yes" vote.
Both acceptable reasons to vote against the plan.
But, when Londoners go to the polls this fall, I hope they don't vote against the other 11 just because of this decision.
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Craig Needles
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they should have stuck to the indexing that has been used since 1998 instead of the token gesture. It is always controversial to vote yourself a pay increase.
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Posted By
In the Know
On
4/8/2010 4:54:44 PM
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I agree - it came across as hypocritical to turn down overnight parking due to a loss in revenue while voting in favour of pay raises (or a return to their previous levels). Like you said, the $30K raise is just a drop in the bucket, but it definitely doesn't sit well alongside such an unpopular move.
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Posted By
Dale
On
4/6/2010 1:18:39 PM
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you really suprised me with this on Craig. It is not how much the hike was that is the issue but the fact that the economy is NOT significantly better now. we still have record unemployment and people who are more than grateful just to HAVE a job let alone to get a raise in pay. councillor is a part time position and $30K+ for a part time job is pretty damn good considering the lionshare of their constituents are making that or less at a full time job. also, people are probably fuming because in addition to giving themselves a raise, they voted down overnight parking based on the premise of lost revenue. if they are so tight for money, how can they justify a pay raise? there has to be some semblance of consistency to the decisions that are made at city hall.
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Posted By
Ben Fraraccio
On
3/30/2010 3:19:01 PM
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