- by Anne Finlay-Stewart

At tonight's Owen Sound City Council meeting the Director of Corporate Services will present a report on Council and Board remunerations for 2017, as required under the Ontario Municipal Act. These numbers will be changing for 2018.

As of January 1, 2018, and therefore for those elected in this October's municipal election, remuneration is as follows:  Mayor - $48,158, Deputy Mayor - $24,879.93 and Councillor - $21,634.73

Council accepted the recommendations of an ad-hoc Remuneration Committee last summer.

The Committee stated in their "guiding principles" that they wanted Owen Sound to offer compensation that would attract "talented candidates with sound leadership skills and a willingness to contribute to the community" and that would "not have a negative impact on family income or be a barrier to running for council."

The Committee reviewed the compensation in other smaller Ontario cities, such as Collingwood, Meaford, Orangeville, Orillia, Brockville, and Stratford.

The Committee was made up of chair Paul Foster, vice-chair Garth Pierce, and Francesca Dobbyn, Robert Garnett and Robert Hope.