11779 replies to this topic

[VIResident]

I'd vote for this, how about you?

 

On the other hand, a substantial pay raise might be in order if all the municipal councils in the region were merged into one government, she said.

 

“If you put all 13 mayors’ salaries into one, if you put all the councillors’ salaries across all 13 municipalities into one set of councillors, we could pay everyone quite handsomely for being the mayor and council of a region of 350,000 people and still save ourselves quite a bit of money.”

https://www.timescol...erce-1.24010139

[AllseeingEye]

Yes Catherine Holt sums up the situation quite nicely don't you think? And gets in a shot for an "only if...." amalgamation scenario to boot, lol.

[AllseeingEye]

Ben Isitts response  for interviews on the pay raise debacle he promoted....you cant make this stuff up...the crazy is strong within him...

 

 https://twitter.com/...550614995881984

Yup....finite time to speak to the media or other "communications arising".....but apparently he had plenty of time to complete a doctorate degree on top of his other council "duties". Hm....

[Stephen James]

I'd vote for this, how about you?

 

On the other hand, a substantial pay raise might be in order if all the municipal councils in the region were merged into one government, she said.

 

 

“If you put all 13 mayors’ salaries into one, if you put all the councillors’ salaries across all 13 municipalities into one set of councillors, we could pay everyone quite handsomely for being the mayor and council of a region of 350,000 people and still save ourselves quite a bit of money.”

https://www.timescol...erce-1.24010139

We already did.  Anyone remember the Citizens Council on Amalgamation we voted for?  Haynes is corrupt.

[Stephen James]

Yup....finite time to speak to the media or other "communications arising".....but apparently he had plenty of time to complete a doctorate degree on top of his other council "duties". Hm....

 

Check out his attendance record during that time... documented.  His absences (25%) were one of the reasons the Grumpy Taxpayers successfully argued for more disclosure about voting, attendance, etc.  He got away with it but it will be harder for the next one.

[Stephen James]

Not sure where bad governance ends and corruption begins but this much is true...

Our city council defines their own increased workload and then used that workload to justify a colossal pay increase.

[Stephen James]

 

On average, city councillors make $43,000 plus benefits, and are expected to work a three-quarter time position. Isitt reports he spends an average of 40 to 50 hours per week doing city work.

 

“It’s impossible to have other ordinary outside employment,” he said. “We have daytime meetings, emails, participate in local events, and deal with communications arising.”

 

In total the increase is asking for $205,600 on the 2020 budget budget, funding which Isitt said would come from $3 million in newly-assessed revenues that come from recent developments and newly-assessed values of local properties.

 

“New condos and new apartments means new residents, and that means more emails,” Isitt said. “I think it’s an appropriate funding source, as the workload of council is going to go up as the population increases.”

 

 

https://www.vicnews....-wage-increase/

 

 

that's all pretty weak

 

they are free to go to as many and as few events as they choose.  go to the ones you'd like to go to.   a few more e-mail is not going to kill them.  you can do that from home at your leisure.  and "hey look we got another $3M let's spend that on ourselves!"  your bridge is still $50m over budget have you paid all that yet?

 

 

 

 

 

.

 

He, and Helps, know the NDP doesn't want them in any other arena.  So, they need some way, somewhere, to advance their careers?

[Mike K.]

Not sure where bad governance ends and corruption begins but this much is true...
Our city council defines their own increased workload and then used that workload to justify a colossal pay increase.

And when they were pressed on the implications of increasing their work load, they assured their constituents that their choices would not impact their roles, nor affect their wages.

Fast forward a year and council is asking for tens of thousands of dollars more, per year, per councillor, tied to the median income at City Hall, which would untether council’s renumeration from wage increases scrutinized by the public and voted on by council and bind them to incomes at City Hall (ie, the more highly paid employees council agrees to hire, the higher the median income becomes, and the higher council’s wages become).

[Stephen James]

And when they were pressed on the implications of increasing their work load, they assured their constituents that their choices would not impact their roles, nor affect their wages.

Fast forward a year and council is asking for tens of thousands of dollars more, per year, per councillor, tied to the median income at City Hall, which would untether council’s renumeration from wage increases scrutinized by the public and voted on by council and bind them to incomes at City Hall (ie, the more highly paid employees council agrees to hire, the higher the median income becomes, and the higher council’s wages become).

 

Yes, right!  So I see my submission was incomplete:

"Our city council defines their own increased workload and then used that workload to justify a colossal pay increase and so lied when they said they wouldn't."

 

I dont know... edging towards corruption?

[Stephen James]

asked the internet, "What is the opposite of good governance?"

 

 

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[todd]

I have a hard time believing how many hours he claims it takes to work as a councillor.
 
Ben Isitt completed a PhD during his time in office (his second). He has also managed to remain active in the academic community writing papers and attending conferences that have nothing to do with his council work.
 
I think his claims about the demands of the job are utter BS.

Father was a PhD professor one of his favourite statements was a PhD has a little to do with how smart you are it has to do with how persistent you are.

[Tom Braybrook]

i gotta say that my favourite quote is from Marianne Alto when she pointed out that any vote would apply to the next term of council, not to themselves...

 

when you take into account that it is usual for 95%+ of incumbents to get re-elected, i think we know who they are voting a pay increase for...

[Stephen James]

This behaviour, btw, is how we end up with the likes of Trump.  

Send them Robbie Burns "To a louse, on seeing one on a lady's bonnet at church."  

We need them to see themselves as others see them.  

Cleary they don't.

[Mike K.]

Typically these discussions are held a year or six months ahead of an election, not three years before an election.

I have no doubt that council will pursue a vote to increase their pay in this term provided the by-election yields a candidate sympathetic to Isitt/Potts/Loveday/Dubow. They only need that single vote.

[Stephen James]

Typically these discussions are held a year or six months ahead of an election, not three years before an election.

I have no doubt that council will pursue a vote to increase their pay in this term provided the by-election yields a candidate sympathetic to Isitt/Potts/Loveday/Dubow. They only need that single vote.

 

I agree with the idea that no council should ever determine their own pay... full stop.

 

Frankly, I'm kind of stunned by the absence of any discussion about what good governance is, what it means and why.  This discussion doesn't seem to matter to people much any more, or I'm unable to find them in numbers.  I was raised and trained to think that, if you're not making all decisions in an ethical, transparent way, then you don't have the foundation for trust.  Western democracy is built on the maintenance of this trust.  On boards of non-profits, corporations and even on strategy teams where the stakes were high, I've experienced more mature discussions about conflict of interest, and the primary importance of the appearance of conflict, than I've ever seen or heard from Victoria City Council.  

 

It's terrifying because political bodies are proving all over the world, in western style democracies, that they will act with impunity and, even without malicious intent, many of these bodies seem utterly detached from the reality their electorate experience.  Fully realizing that my next comment will sound alarmist, the situation looks to me like the recipe for a slow failure of our civilization.

Edited by Taco, 16 November 2019 - 01:45 PM.

[VIResident]

Victoria city councillors want to be Canada’s highest paid (for their size)

https://www.capnews....77d75-121164041

 

"...One could argue that the members Victoria City Council face a higher cost of living. However, they are also representing a constituency that happensto be among the lowest-earning urban populations in B.C.

The annual earnings of an employed, full-time Victorian are among the lowest of any city in B.C.According to Statistics Canada, the median income for a full-time, full-yearVictoria worker is $49,464. When ranked against all other B.C. cities largerthan 25,000 people, the only places with lower paid workers are Nanaimo, Vernon,Campbell River, Penticton and Abbotsford."

Edited by VIResident, 18 November 2019 - 06:15 AM.

[rmpeers]

I'd be very curious to see a study or some sort of analysis of how the various seemingly pointless things the CoV does (i
e. Things that a lot of us regard as wasting money) impact residents, either via property tax for owners or as higher rents as a result of higher property tax. That is to say, are frivolous pursuits led by civic politicians significantly impacting housing affordability?

[Victoria Watcher]

Victoria city councillors want to be Canada’s highest paid (for their size)

https://www.capnews....77d75-121164041

 

"...One could argue that the members Victoria City Council face a higher cost of living. However, they are also representing a constituency that happensto be among the lowest-earning urban populations in B.C.

The annual earnings of an employed, full-time Victorian are among the lowest of any city in B.C.According to Statistics Canada, the median income for a full-time, full-yearVictoria worker is $49,464. When ranked against all other B.C. cities largerthan 25,000 people, the only places with lower paid workers are Nanaimo, Vernon,Campbell River, Penticton and Abbotsford."

 

 

of note:

 

newmarket ontario  - 7 councillors (ward system)

lethbridge - 8 councillors

cape breton - 12 councillors (ward system)

nanaimo - 8 councillors

Edited by Victoria Watcher, 18 November 2019 - 07:22 AM.

[Mike K.]

Absolutely they are. And now council wants 20% of units to be subsidized by the remaining 80%.

Property tax on an average condo is $1,500-$2,000 per year. It rises 3-6% per year. The scarcity of housing has also yielded high housing prices. Municipal red tape and the bureaucratic process accounts for 20% of a condo’s cost in the CoV.

[Mike K.]

Mayor Helps is writing local councils throughout the region seeking their support for petitioning the provincial government to provide clean drugs to drug users, and to fund "inhalation sites," a safe environment in which to smoke drugs (meth, crack cocaine, etc.) similar to safe injection sites.

 

From Helps' letter:

 

Therefore be it resolved that in an effort to save lives and reduce harm due to an unpredictable and highly-toxic drug supply, and as part of a holistic response to the public-health emergency, including prevention, treatment, and recovery, that the Province of British Columbia work with local communities, Health Authorities across the Province, the Ministry of Mental Health and Addictions, and the Ministry of Health ensure that people at risk of overdose harm have access to safer alternatives.

 

 

Therefore be it resolved that to ensure that people at risk of overdose across BC have access to observed consumption services that provide space for inhalation, that the Province of British Columbia fund and work through local communities, Health Authorities across the Province, the Ministry of Mental Health and Addictions and the Ministry of Health to provide these services as part of a holistic response to the public-health emergency, including prevention, treatment, and recovery.