Innisfil politicians slam Simcoe County council over 'unconscionable' pay raise

Add the Town of Innisfil to the list of those not happy with the pay raise County of Simcoe councillors handed themselves recently.

Town councillors passed a motion at their Nov. 27 meeting calling on their county counterparts to repeal the wage increase, through a letter from the town that will be circulated to the other municipalities in Simcoe, along with Barrie-Innisfil MPP Andrea Khanjin and Ontario Premier Doug Ford.

The motion was passed unanimously in a recorded vote, but not before an often-tense discussion on the matter, with the mover and the deputy mayor at the forefront.

Coun. Robert Saunders brought the motion to the floor, which was a late addition to the agenda and required two-thirds support from around the table to be considered Wednesday, rather than being pushed to a Dec. 10 meeting, which would be standard procedure for such a move.

He took aim at Deputy Mayor Kenneth Fowler’s support for the in-term wage increase.

“While we're all hearing and seeing the social chatter on tax rates (and) property taxes within our boundaries, (and) we are all witnessing many struggling under the current economic situations, our deputy mayor voted to give himself (a) 146-per-cent pay increase in his county council salary,” Saunders said.

It’s not the first time Saunders has brought up the increase. At the Nov. 13 Innisfil council meeting, as councillors were getting their first look at the 2025-2026 municipal budget, Saunders questioned how much of the county tax increase was due to the salary adjustment.

During that meeting, Fowler indicated he asked a similar question to county staff and was told the cost per ratepayer, per year, would be about $2.

By the Nov. 27 meeting, Saunders was using a figure that had jumped another 70 cents and criticized the deputy mayor for his “brush-off remark” in explanation.

“(That) $2.70 with 43,000 residents within Innisfil is $116,100; this is a salary of a much-needed police officer or fire officer,” Saunders said. “To many families struggling, $2.70 … is a warm soup and a loaf of bread.

“At what point does the decision to serve the people become self-serving?” Saunders continued.

Saunders had his math wrong, Fowler said, who too, provided a revised number from the Nov. 13 meeting. The cost per ratepayer, per year, was actually 78 cents, about $1.20 less than what he’d previously said.

“If you are looking to make a motion or point out that somebody is going to be suffering because of 78 cents a year per person, there are far greater battles you can make,” Fowler said.

He also called on Saunders to put his money where his mouth is.

“If you’re so inclined to do this, would you be willing — and I’m asking this directly — would you be willing to freeze this council’s wages for the next term … should you get elected, so that you can pass on those savings?”

Fowler acknowledged that people are not impressed by the wage increase and how it is being perceived. But while people have every right to be upset, there’s a nuance in the rationale that is being overlooked.

For Fowler, he views the raise as a way to ensure the best people possible can serve their community. The current stipend for county and municipal councillors equates to below minimum wage, on a per-hour basis. In Innisfil, that’s brought several retirees to the table, including three currently serving, in councillors Grace Constantine, Alex Waters and Linda Zanella.

It was a message echoed in the debate at county council, too.

Bradford West Gwillimbury Mayor James Leduc said his goal was to “change the colour of the hair” of the councillors.

“In Bradford, we did a raise … and the reason was to attract the younger generation,” Leduc said at the time. “We talk about a living wage in this county. Why shouldn’t we have a living wage?”

That wasn’t lost on Fowler. There will be savings to be found, but at this time, it shouldn’t be at the expense of the people who love the job and serving the community.

“I can go work at the Dollarama for the same wages and not miss family time, not give up weekends, not get phone (calls) at 11 o’clock at night,” he said to his colleagues in debating Saunders' motion. “I feel ... this is grandstanding on the councillor’s part.”

County councillors voted to increase their remuneration during their Oct. 22 council meeting, an incremental pay raise spread out over the next three years that will take their current salary of $12,054, plus per diems, to $41,717 by 2027, not including per diems.

Since then, the move has been largely panned by residents, other municipal councils and, perhaps most loudly, the premier himself.

That was a significant sticking point for Mayor Lynn Dollin.

“I want to send the message to Premier Ford that we’re not in favour of this raise so they don’t go ‘oh, grant request from Innisfil, they’re in Simcoe County, they just tripled their salaries, we’ll put them in the 'no' pile,’” she said.

The mayor, who also sits on county council, provided additional context to her colleagues. The recommendation from the county’s governance committee was to decrease the size of council from 32 to 16. At that point, a remuneration increase could be in play because no additional money on salaries would be spent.

Instead, county councillors voted to increase the number of bodies at the table by instituting a full-time warden, as well as increasing their wages.

To Dollin, the move flies in the face of how Innisfil does business when it comes to determining council pay. In Innisfil, an ad-hoc committee is struck of community members, and similar municipalities are studied. That committee’s recommendation is brought before council and any changes are enacted for the start of the next term.

She sided with colleagues such as councillors Kevin Eisses, Waters and Zanella, who were uneasy with the decision county council had made.

“To me, voting yourself that type of a raise is unconscionable,” Dollin said. “No matter who you are and no matter how many cents it is, voting yourself that type of a raise, that’s not why you come into this business in the first place.”

In the end, Fowler voted 'yes' on Saunders' motion.

“Why not,” he said, somewhat perturbed, as his name was called in the recorded vote.

— With files from Nikki Cole