Riversite Realty Morning Coffee – By Aaron Hall
Chatham-Kent council voted in favour of a pay increase for the Mayor’s position for next term, but turned down an increase for themselves.
The notion of council and Mayor compensation was discussed at the regular council meeting on Monday night, after a report was brought forward by a citizen review committee.
The committee recommended the Mayor should make $103,000 annually, up from the $83,692 the position currently makes.
Eventually council approved a motion by Chatham Coun. Derek Robertson to increase the mayor’s annual pay to $93,605.
Council also agreed the mayor would be eligible for an ‘end of service’ transition honorarium at the rate of $10,000 for one term served and $20,000 for two or more terms served if he/she runs for a second or subsequent term and is not reelected. If re-elected as mayor, the Mayor not to be eligible for any transition honorarium.
Council also accepted that the mayor’s position be enrolled in the Ontario Municipal Employee Retirement System (OMERS).
The changes will not go into effect until the next term of council.
Council opted not to increase their own annual pay, despite the recommendation from the review committee to increase the payment to $31,000 annually, from the current base of $26,542.
Council compensation has not been changed since 2004.
A motion by Wallaceburg Coun. Carmen McGregor to increase councillors pay to $28,937 was voted down.
Chatham Coun. Brock McGregor tweeted during Monday’s meeting that ward boundaries and the size of council should be examined before any discussion about compensation is had.
We still need to change ward boundaries and size of council – that should be the focus of any discussion on counc/mayor comp. #ckont
— Brock McGregor (@brockmcgregor) 24 January 2017
Here is some background about this issue: Wallaceburg’s ward boundaries not changing
What do you think about council’s decision?
Let us know by voting below:
[polldaddy poll=”9645724″]
Saving PACE
It appears our readers want to see the PACE program saved at WDSS in Wallaceburg.
Here is the results from last week’s poll questions:
Should the PACE program at WDSS be saved?
Yes 92.57% (274 votes)
No 7.43% (22 votes)
Total Votes: 296
Here is some more background:
– ‘Poll: Should PACE be saved at WDSS?’
– Letter: Time to save the PACE program at WDSS
– PACE program being threatened at WDSS
The program is slated for closure after January 31, if funding cannot be obtained.
If you have a suggestion, story idea, column idea, or if you want to say hello… drop me an e-mail at aaron@sydenhamcurrent.ca.
Photo of the day
On Saturday, January 21, 2017, a fingerprint clinic was held at Union Gas in partnership with the Chatham-Kent Police Service.
At this time, Union Gas donated money to purchase additional USB sticks which are required to use the digital fingerprint machines at clinics across the community.
Each year members of the Chatham-Kent Police Service along with various community partners offer child fingerprint clinics as a proactive tool to assist both police and parents in a moment of crisis when a child goes missing. In 2016, Chatham-Kent Crime Stoppers obtained two new digital fingerprinting kits that records fingerprints digitally updating our capabilities into the digital age.
S/Constable Tamara Dick, member of the CKPS Crime Prevention and Community Safety Section says, “The purpose of fingerprint clinics is to allow parents to get digital fingerprints and photographs of their children. The information is kept on a USB thumb drive which is then given to the parents. In the event tragedy strikes and the child goes missing, the parent can provide the USB stick to police who can then utilize the information for investigative purposes. For these types of investigations, this technology is invaluable.”
“At Union Gas, we are committed to the safety of our employees and our communities,” said Sean Collier, district manager Windsor/Chatham, Union Gas. “That’s why we support important safety programs in the communities we serve, such as the Chatham-Kent Police Services’ child finger print clinics, which help keep Chatham-Kent children safe.”
Thank you again to Union Gas for their commitment in working together to keep our community the safest in Ontario.
Weather forecast for Tuesday, January 24, 2017
Today – Cloudy with 60 percent chance of showers or drizzle. Fog patches dissipating late this morning. High plus 5.
Tonight – Cloudy. 30 percent chance of drizzle this evening. Fog patches developing this evening. Low plus 1.
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