Last Word on Ramara Council’s Pay and Expense Raise

My wife tells me it is time to forget about how Ramara’s Council went about their approving their recent 41% pay raise and move on. I can’t and I will make sure that everybody knows about their actions in November 2010, unless by then I’ve given up on this place and moved on.

Firstly, I am not upset with the outcome, their pay increase. Rather my issue is with the process they used to achieve this outcome. It was not open and transparent. Council did not have the courage to meet with their constituents before hand and none of them made reference to their rate of pay as an issue during the election campaign.

So how can this council reform this process, so that in the future the process is open and transparent?

It can only initiate at a meeting of council. Item 5 on their agenda “Motions of Which Notice Has Been Previously Given,” would be an appropriate place to start. A councilor can introduce the motion: “I move that council undertake a review of the current pay and expense bylaw.”

If the motion is defeated, then the matter comes to end.

If council approves the motion, then there can be no other formal discussions, on this matter, at this council meeting, other than additional motions directing the CAO to:
· Schedule a public meeting regarding this matter;
· Ask the public to forward any comments they may have;
· Produce a report detailing current pay and expense levels in Ramara, as well as the levels for other municipalities in Simcoe County.

* All these actions would need to be back scheduled, so that final assent can be given at the last council meeting, of the calendar year, in December, (if required).

Now Ramara Council has a process that is both open and transparent. Councilors will have an opportunity to review their achievements, from the past year and have tangible evidence to give ratepayers, warranting a pay increase. So what are these achievements? Simple, council defines them, and approaches they will use to achieve them at their inaugural council meeting, in January. If they did what they promised to do, within the parameters they defined, by the end of the year, I would say they deserve their pay raise.

By giving ratepayers a chance to participate in the process, it allows them to refute councilors claims of their achievements.

Process is simple. It will cost nothing to implement. The results will speak for themselves.

A Challenge the members of Ramara council to implement this process.