Nobody likes to have their pay queried because everyone thinks they've earned what they get and deserve even more.
So it's no surprise that Port Coquitlam council is defending its decision to increase councillors' and mayor's at the rate of inflation (according to the Consumer Price Index).
Most Canadians don't get an an annual inflationary wage increase and today, full-time jobs with benefits are increasingly hard to find. So it's tough for the average Joe to accept politician pay and benefit hikes when they never get to give themselves a raise.
But in the case of PoCo pay, it's a reasonable decision to tie councillor indemnity increases to inflation rather then some other arbitrary measure or an average of other elected officials' pay. And while the mayor's transportation allowance is high given the size of the city — and especially compared to the Port Moody mayor's mileage-based expenses — it's apparently within regional limits.
Can these hikes be defended? It depends on the job they do — and it's up to voters to decide that in the end.
