Maple Ridge politicians say no to raises amid affordability concerns

Maple Ridge council has unanimously rejected proposed pay increases for elected officials, opting instead to maintain existing annual cost-of-living adjustments.

The May 12 decision came after council reviewed a staff report comparing Maple Ridge council remuneration with 12 similarly sized B.C. municipalities.

Staff had recommended increasing the mayor’s salary to roughly $155,000 and councillor salaries to $62,000 for the next council term, arguing the city had fallen behind comparable communities after more than a decade without a full structural review.

Instead, council voted to stick with annual CPI increases only and reject any additional raises to salaries or vehicle allowances.

Mayor Dan Ruimy acknowledged there may be an argument for higher pay levels compared with other municipalities, but said the existing annual inflationary increases already help keep compensation current.

“If we weren’t getting the CPI increases, then I would say yes, we do need to make an adjustment,” Ruimy said. “But we are getting a yearly cost of living increase, which is comparable to everybody else out there.”

With the scheduled 2.1 percent CPI adjustment, the mayor’s salary will rise to about $145,134, while councillors will receive roughly $58,064 annually.

Staff estimated Maple Ridge’s mayoral remuneration currently sits about 7.06 per cent below the average of comparable municipalities and 5.55 per cent below the median.

Coun. Korleen Carreras said affordability concerns in the community made it difficult to justify increases despite the city sitting below some comparator municipalities.

“For me, when we dig into this … affordability is really top of mind for folks right now in our community,” Carreras said. “We do get the CPI adjustment, and I’m not comfortable with increasing either.”

The staff report noted the city last conducted a comprehensive remuneration review in 2011 and that annual CPI adjustments have largely kept compensation aligned with inflation, though not necessarily with other municipalities.

Council did approve one change unanimously: standardizing acting mayor remuneration so it is distributed more evenly among councillors regardless of how many days are in a given month.

Currently, acting mayor pay fluctuates depending on the calendar and pay schedule, creating situations where some councillors receive more compensation simply because their assignment falls during a month with more pay periods.
Carreras argued the tweak was about fairness rather than increasing compensation overall.

“I think we should all be paid the same, regardless of how many days it is,” she said.

Coun. Judy Dueck agreed, noting that some acting mayor assignments currently result in councillors receiving three paycheques in a month.

“Split it between the six members, and that’s the fairest way to do it,” Dueck said.

Council also debated whether to include parental leave provisions for elected officials in a rewritten remuneration bylaw.

The province introduced Bill 18, legislation that would establish minimum parental leave entitlements for local elected officials across B.C. if adopted. Proposed provisions include 26 weeks of leave, continued remuneration, and protection from disqualification due to absences related to pregnancy, birth, or adoption.

Coun. Jenny Tan pushed to include parental leave language immediately, saying it aligned with council’s values around accessibility and equal participation.

“We do accept that women and men need to take time away for families and the caring of young children,” Tan said. “That is no different whether someone is a nurse, a police officer, or a politician.”

But several councillors said they preferred to wait until the province finalizes legislation before adding local provisions.

Coun. Onyeka Dozie said approving provisions before provincial legislation is finalized would be premature.

“It’s just tantamount to putting the cart before the horse,” Dozie said.

Council ultimately voted unanimously to remove the parental leave provisions from the draft bylaw for now, though Tan said she hopes the issue returns if provincial legislation stalls.

The original staff recommendation would have increased total council remuneration costs by roughly $60,000 annually, plus employer benefit costs.