by Shaun McLaughlin
first published at Shaun on Council http://www.shaunoncouncil.ca/2012/08/staff-raises-for-2013.html
The EMC made the following statement in mid-August: “…Mississippi Mills council boosted the pay of non-unionized employees between six and 16 per cent beginning Jan. 1, 2013.”
Several people asked me why staffers are getting such huge raises. The short answer is no one is getting a 16% raise January 1. Some will not get a raise for several years. Here’s the story.
Mississippi Mills needed to recalibrate salaries to keep from offending the Ontario Pay Equity Act. Also, our pay scales had to reflect market rates for the same job compared to similar municipalities, in order to not lose good staff (and we have many excellent people). All non-unionized employees are moving to a new 7-step pay grid. That means it will take 7 years to fully implement the raises. The pay raises will amount to approximately $240,000 more by 2016.
Seven people who make more than the market rate will have their salary frozen for four or five years. Some staff will see no step increase on January 1. Due to pay equity regulations, one or two staff will get a catch-up raise. The average increase in 2013 will be 2%. A few may see a jump of about 6% because they move to a higher level on the grid.
Note: I did not support the raises at the last vote because I agreed with the mayor that we needed to study the financial impact further.
Where the Money Goes
The Town delivers a spectrum of programs and services, and we get regular requests for more. The Town is growing and the Province continues to download regulations which the Town must implement at our cost. All that requires staff.
