A pay increase for members of Essex town council.
In a 6-2 vote, council members voted in favour of giving themselves and future members of council a raise.
The hike varies for each position and was determined after a Council Remuneration Review.
Based on the recommendations presented to council, council members agreed to give the mayor a 6.1% pay increase, the deputy mayor will receive a 2.3 percent increase and councillors will get a 3.7 percent hike.
Mayor Sherry Bondy says it's a contentious issue.
"Giving elected officials an increase is contentious and if it was left to the members of the public, we would still be paid what they were paid like in the 1950s I'm sure," says Bondy. "So I understand it's hard. I understand times are challenging but you really have to look at the level of responsibility, the liability and everything it takes to run a town. It's quite a big job."
She feels council wages are getting better.
"I think the mayor's job is definitely a full time job," she says. "You know I've talked to other local mayors, we're all in agreement like we put in full time hours. We're definitely approaching 50, 60, some weeks 70. It's not just what the public see in terms of meeting schedule, there is a lot of meeting prep. You can't just go to a meeting without reading the agenda and sometimes that can take hours."
Bondy says council also agreed to have the town review its wages every four years, the same time the town looks at wages for its non-union employees.
"I would say that I make well below minimum wage when you calculate all the hours in," says Bondy. "Definitely always on call everytime something happens. There's never a day off in government and we ran knowing that but now at least we know that we're compensated just like our peers are compensated, no more, not less."
The mayor's salary is now at $49,854, the deputy mayor will be paid $35,162 and a councillor will get $28,024.
According to the report, the increase goes back to January 1, 2024.
The review was initiated about a year ago and looked at the pay scale for council positions in other municipalities including Tillsonburg, Amherstburg, LaSalle and Kingsville.