Councillors in West Nipissing have approved a 27 per cent pay increase, their first major salary adjustment in over two decades, following a close 5-4 vote at the April 15 meeting. The increase comes after a third-party consultant reviewed compensation in comparable municipalities. While base salaries had remained unchanged since 1999, councillors had received annual cost-of-living adjustments tied to the Consumer Price Index (CPI) since 2008, typically ranging between two and three per cent. Not a pay raise, but a compensation review Ward 4 councillor Jamie Restoule objected to the term “pay raise,” calling it a “compensation review.” Mayor Kathleen Thorne Rochon noted previously that a 2019 tax change eliminated a previously non-taxable portion of council pay, effectively reducing earnings for municipal leaders. “Previous to 2019, one-third of council compensation was not taxable, and they did change that,” Rochon told CTV News last month. “So in 2019, all members of council across the province took a real pay cut.” The mayor added that West Nipissing was among the few municipalities that had not adjusted salaries to offset the tax change. Decision made ‘appropriately’ “The process... has been appropriate as far as having a third party provide the recommendations,” said Rochon in a Zoom interview after the decision. Under the new structure, the mayor’s salary rises from $35,482 to 44,877, while councillors’ pay increases from $17,748 to $22,532. These changes take effect immediately. Two motions were put forward to delay the increase until the next council term – both were defeated. With files from CTVNorthernOntario.ca journalist Eric Taschner
