Region of Queens Mayor Scott Christian and his fellow councillors at a town hall session at the Liverpool Fire Hall in October. (Rick Conrad / File photo)

A citizens committee is considering recommending significant raises for Queens County’s mayor and councillors.

The five-person group of volunteers appointed by Region of Queens council to review elected officials’ remuneration had their second meeting on Friday.

They agreed that the mayor’s position should be considered a full-time job. They also agreed to recommend that it increase to $68,752 a year from the current $48,033.

That reflects the current salary of the mayor in the West Hants Regional Municipality.

Councillors could see a bigger percentage bump. Committee members discussed how the annual pay for a regional councillor of $24,286 is less than minimum wage, based on a 30-hour work week.

After considering the West Hants councillor rate of $34,376, they discussed raising the salary for a Queens councillor to $41,496. 

Committee members split on that. Three supported the higher rate, while two others voted against it.

Kerry Morash said it would be difficult to justify that kind of increase to residents.

Pamela Brennan said she supports higher pay for councillors, especially in the age of social media.

“We live in a time when elected officials are targets for abuse, targets for frustration,” she said, adding that as an elected official, “potentially, you put your employable future at risk.”

She said that a higher rate of pay could encourage more people to consider running for municipal council. District 6 was the only area that was uncontested in the 2024 election. 

Committee chair Christopher Clarke, also a former mayor, said after the meeting that it’s a balancing act.

“You fall between two stools,” he told QCCR.

“On the one hand, you want to compensate people who run for office properly. And they deserve that. 
On the other hand, you’ve got to be cognizant of the fact that Queens is one of the poorest municipalities in the province. You’ve got to make sure that whatever you do doesn’t add too great a burden on the taxpayer.”

The committee’s Tara Druzina said if the new salaries are recommended by the committee and approved by council, the cost would be the equivalent of an extra $24 a year per taxpayer.

It’s important to note that the committee has not yet decided on its final recommendations to council. It will meet again on Feb. 6 at 2 p.m. in council chambers. That meeting is open to the public.

Committee members are set to discuss the rate of pay for deputy mayor, among other issues.

While they focused on West Hants for much of their discussion Friday, they’re also looking at other municipalities with a similar population or budget size.

“So we’ve been using West Hants as our comparison,” Clarke said. 

“It is a reasonably fair comparison. Population-wise, it’s more, they have more councillors. 
We’ve also been cross-referencing to the Town of Bridgewater, for example, where we’re very comparable in size, number of councillors, budget. We’ve looked at the (Municipality of the County) of Annapolis.”

The committee also briefly discussed pension options for elected officials. Some Nova Scotia municipalities allow their council members to participate in a pension plan. But the committee did not reach a consensus on that issue in their Friday meeting.

Currently, pay for Region of Queens council and the mayor is adjusted after every election. 

Any raises are calculated by using an amount equal to the cumulative percentage of the average salary increase of all region employees over the past four years or by the cumulative consumer price index over the same period, whichever is less. 

The region has had the same policy since 2018.

The Municipality of the District of Lunenburg’s mayor is paid $59,377 a year, while councillors make $29,562. The deputy mayor gets $40,208. Members of council can also participate in a health and dental benefits package and be part of the provincial public service pension plan, which MODL belongs to as an employer.

The committee is due to report back to Region of Queens council by Feb. 28. Councillors will have the final say on how they are compensated.

Committee members are: Christopher Clarke, Velta Vikmanis, Tara Druzina, Kerry Morash and Pamela Brennan.

Two staff members are helping them with research and background. They are Holly McConnell, the region’s director of people and culture, and Alex Wilson, the region’s policy analyst and strategic initiatives co-ordinator.

Email: rickconradqccr@gmail.com

Region of Queens Mayor Scott Christian and his fellow councillors at a town hall session at the Liverpool Fire Hall in October. (Rick Conrad)

The Region of Queens is giving residents a say in how the mayor and councillors are compensated.

Regional council voted this week to create a citizen advisory committee on council remuneration.

Chief Administrative Officer Willa Thorpe told councillors that involving residents in the process helps avoid any potential conflicts of interest.

“The committee’s work could be completed prior to council adopting the 2026-2027 operating budget, so any potential compensation adjustments would be considered during budget deliberations.”

The region is looking for three to five people to sit on the committee, preferably with experience in finance, policy, governance, legislation or related areas.

The mayor’s current annual salary is $48,533, while councillors make $24,267. The deputy mayor makes $25,667. The mayor and councillors do not participate in a benefits or pension plan.

Pay for council and the mayor is adjusted after every election. Any raises are calculated by using an amount equal to the cumulative percentage of the average salary increase of all region employees over the past four years or by the cumulative consumer price index over the same period, whichever is less. 

The region has had the same policy since 2018.

This fall, regional staff contacted municipalities around the province about how they review councillor compensation.

Nine municipalities responded. Two-thirds of those included some kind of pension or health benefits.

The Municipality of the District of Lunenburg adjusts council pay annually based on the provincial consumer price index. It also includes a health and dental benefits plan, with elected officials paying 25 per cent of the premium. Since June 1, 2021, they are also enrolled in the province’s public service pension plan, which MODL belongs to as an employer.

MODL’s mayor is paid $59,377 a year, while councillors make $29,562. The deputy mayor gets $40,208.

In the Halifax region, which is Nova Scotia’s largest municipality, the mayor makes almost $205,000, with councillors at $99,402. They can also participate in a benefits and pension plan.

The citizen advisory committee in Queens would meet three times, twice in January and once in February, before delivering its report by Feb. 28.

Councillors would appoint committee members at their first meeting in January. Holly McConnell, the region’s director of people and culture, would help the committee with their work.

When asked whether three meetings is enough time for the committee to review compensation for mayor and councillors, Mayor Scott Christian told QCCR that they’ll have help.

“I guess that we will see,” he said.

“My expectation is that staff will carry most of the heavy lifting and the load in terms of actually doing the writing and development of the work. But I think it’s really important to have the citizen panel so there are opportunities from an objectivity and an impartiality standpoint and to get different perspectives around the table.”

Meetings of the committee will be open to the public. And it will be dissolved once it finishes its review. 

The region is accepting applications until Jan. 2 at 4:30 p.m. Applicants should email a brief summary of their experience and a brief statement on why they want to participate to the municipal clerk at clerk@regionofqueens.com. 

Email: rickconradqccr@gmail.com

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