The numbers are in and local members of council, committees and boards were paid about $397,297 in combined wages and roughly $24,271 in expenses in Bradford during 2024 — increases of about 6.62 and 24.42 per cent, respectively, over 2023.
A report on the council remuneration for 2024 prepared by deputy treasurer Nathalie Carrier breaks down the pay for members of council and other local representatives compensated for serving on boards or committees, and council received the report for information without discussion during its regular meeting on March. 4.
Those amounts include wages, benefits paid by the employer, per diems (daily compensation) for special meetings or conferences, allocation for mileage, phones, internet access, compensation for workshops/seminars and any other remuneration paid by external boards — including the County of Simcoe and two conservation authorities.
In 2024, each of the seven councillors received a base wage of about $26,760, with roughly $33,496 for Deputy Mayor Raj Sandhu and about $52,958 for Mayor James Leduc for a total of $273,771, about seven per cent more than the $256,148 paid in 2023.
That follows council’s decision from May 7 to give themselves raises pro-rated for the second half of 2024. Their wages were set to increase again at the beginning of this year, before council decided to cut this year’s raises from the 2025 budget.
Each of the seven councillors received $1,500 for mileage, with $2,000 for the deputy mayor and $3,000 for the mayor.
Compensation for phones ranged between $216 and $970, with an average of $380 and a total of $3,417, about 21 per cent less than the $4,314 paid in 2023. All nine received $540 for internet, the same as 2023.
Benefit claims varied from $2,121 to as much as $5,593, with an average of $3,617 and a total of $32,555, about five per cent more than the $31,066 covered in 2023.
Local per diems for councillors ranged between $100 and $1,200, with an average of $681 and a total of $6,125, about 133 per cent more than the $2,625 paid in 2023.
Library board honorariums were $1,000 for each of the four members and two councillors totalling $6,000, the same as 2023.
Compensation for the nine members of the Holland Marsh Drainage System Joint Municipal Services Board varied between $400 and $600, with an average of $488 and totalling $4,300, about five per cent more than the $4,100 paid in 2023.
Compensation for the five members of the committee of adjustment varied between $300 and $480, with an average of $372 totalling $1,860, about 57 per cent less than the $3,240 paid in 2023. Additional costs for the committee included $135 each for memberships totalling $675, about 10 per cent less than the $750 covered in 2023.
As members of county council, the deputy mayor received $20,357, about 13 per cent more than the $18,053 paid in 2023, while the mayor received $23,966, down about two per cent from $24,488 in 2023.
As a member of the Bradford West Gwillimbury/Innisfil Police Services Board, the mayor also received $3,950, about 23 per cent more than the $3,208 paid in 2023.
As a member of the Lake Simcoe Region Conservation Authority, Ward 5 Coun. Peter Ferragine received $1,307, about 69 per cent less than the $4,196 paid in 2023.
As a member of the Nottawasaga Valley Conservation Authority, Ward 2 Coun. Jonathan Scott received $2,747, about 15 per cent more than the $2,385 paid in 2023.
The cost for registration, accommodation, meals, mileage and parking to send members of council to conferences for the Ontario Good Roads Association, the Association of Municipalities of Ontario, the Rural Ontario Municipal Association, as well as other conferences and workshops totalled $23,596, about 27 per cent more than the $18,590 covered in 2023.
Editor's note: Amounts in this article are rounded to the nearest dollar.