Ambiguity over transparency on council remuneration

Dear Editor,

Property taxes are a direct result of the cost of municipal government. City councils have the ability to minimize, stabilize or even reduce taxes if they have the political will.

But there is considerable evidence to suggest this is not the case in Oshawa.

Over the years, members of Oshawa Council have approved generous collective bargaining agreements that represent 70 per cent of the city’s entire budget, and include wages, benefits, severances and pensions many of which are unavailable to the majority of local residents who must bear the cost.

More egregiously, councillors have linked their own remuneration package to those same collective bargaining agreements – feathering their own nest in a blatant conflict of interest.

It is time for a complete review of council’s remuneration package and increased transparency of what they make. Oshawa’s councillors seem to prefer ambiguity instead of a clear and straightforward disclosure of their compensation. But the fact is, since the by-law for council remuneration was put in place nine years ago, the remuneration of Oshawa councillors has increased by approximately 40 per cent. Not only have the majority of Oshawa taxpayers not received similar increases, but they continue to endure off-the-chart property taxes that are the highest in the GTA.

Oshawa council’s total annual remuneration is rapidly approaching $1 million. Each councillor receives more than $50,000 yearly, which includes $13,000 tax free, $5,200 annual gas allowance, payments in lieu of pensions, severances and numerous other benefits (i.e. medical/dental coverage). Several councillors also receive $4,250 per year for chairing committee meetings, and/or $2,125 for vice-chairing (a perk other city councils in Ontario do not award because they consider it “part of the job”).

The seven members of Oshawa council who are also regional councillors each receive an additional $54,000, bringing their annual income to more than $100,000.

The disconnect between Oshawa councillors and the average Oshawa taxpayer is emphasized by considering that the mayor and majority of Oshawa council members receive a level of remuneration which places them, according to Stats Canada, in the top 10 per cent income earners.

Many other city councils have frozen or reduced their total compensation package.

Until Oshawa council starts to review and reduce their own very generous and self-awarded remuneration, they will be unable to expect city unions and management to reduce their demands and Oshawa residents will continue to bear the cost. Council has resisted and ignored all recent citizen suggestions to review and restrain their own remuneration package.

It’s called leading by example, and the mayor and council should start the process of reducing the cost of municipal government instead of remaining silent and sitting on their hands. What elected public servants receive should be separate from, and not linked to, their workers’ collective bargaining agreements.

Oshawa council should become part of the solution, not part of the problem.

Greg Milosh

Rosemary McConkey