Members of the Summerland council will see an increase in their pay beginning in 2025.
The increase will be indexed to the British Columbia All-Items Consumer Price Index.
In addition, the mayor and council will see their remuneration increase by an additional 10 per cent, to begin efforts to align their pay with the current market median for mayors and councillors in comparable municipalities.
Then, for 2026, 2027 and 2028, remuneration will be increased by two per cent, in addition to the consumer price index increase, also to align Summerland council pay with the market median.
The recommendations, from the Council Remuneration Task Force, were adopted at the Oct. 15 council meeting.
The task force members had been asked to consider council members鈥� pay against inflationary pressures. They compared Summerland鈥檚 rates with the rates of 25 other communities in the province.
In 2022, the pay for the mayor of Summerland was $37,162, while the six councillors received $17,173 for the year. By comparison, the average of 25 municipalities was $43,034 for the mayor and $19,964 for municipal councillors.
The following year, the pay for Summerland鈥檚 mayor had increased slightly, to $38,925, and the pay for councillors had risen to $17,519. Meanwhile, the average of 25 municipalities was $52,097 for the mayors and $23,268 for the councillors.
The list of communities used for comparison was then narrowed, with eight considered. In 2024, the eight municipalities had an average pay of $54,960 for their mayors and $24,284 for their municipal councillors. These figures are considerably higher than the $39,704 paid to Summerland鈥檚 mayor and $17,867 paid to councillors in 2024.
The task force recommended remuneration of $44,865 for the mayor and $20,189 for the six councillors. In addition, the deputy mayor receives a $600 monthly stipend on top of her councillor remuneration.
The adjustments to compensation are expected to add $19,097.78 to the municipal budget.
The 2024 municipal budget for Summerland was $21,365,225.
