Public members of The Blue Mountains OPP Detachment Board will be getting a raise in 2025.
At its committee of the whole meeting on Feb. 24, The Blue Mountains council approved increasing the annual honorarium paid to three public appointees on the police board from $100 to $300.
The decision came after considerable discussion on the matter, with council choosing to reject a staff recommendation on the issue and go in another direction.
In January, the detachment board passed a resolution requesting that council take a look at the remuneration paid to public appointees on the police board. The board has five members – two are appointed from council (Mayor Andrea Matrosovs and Coun. Gail Ardiel) and three members are public appointees, with two appointed by the town and one appointed by the province.
Board chair Jim Oliver subsequently sent council a detailed letter about the issue.
Town staff recommended the public appointees on the board receive $150 per meeting, plus an additional $75 for preparation time. Clerk Corrina Giles explained that the remuneration being proposed matched the numbers paid to members of the town’s committee of adjustment.
However, members of council felt differently.
“The only prep. time we have is reading our minutes,” said Gail Ardiel. “I’m not sure. We haven’t discussed this.”
Members of council wanted to know how many meetings of the board were held each year. Staff explained that the board has four regularly scheduled meetings per year and usually there were one to three additional special meetings called throughout the year. Staff said meetings generally average two hours.
Staff also noted that the financial implications of their recommended remuneration would be “quite small.”
Monica Quinlan, the town’s director of finance, said the total cost of the move would be approximately $2,500 per year, which would be paid out of the general tax levy.
“It would be so minor you wouldn’t even notice it,” said Quinlan.
Coun. Shawn McKinlay said he had a problem supporting a board member receiving $150 for a meeting that might last half an hour.
“That’s definitely more than I get for a day,” said McKinlay. “The province isn’t footing the bill, our taxpayers are.”
Ultimately, council approved an amendment from Ardiel that changed the recommended remuneration from the staff suggestion to a $300 annual honorarium for the police board members. Ardiel noted that the $300 amount matched the amount the Town of Collingwood pays to its police board members.