The Creemore
Echo
Friday, June 11, 2010
Vol. 10 No. 24
Inside the Echo
A French Reunion
Spectacle in the Sky
PAGE 9
PAGE 9
Victoria Ventzke reunites with SEVEC twin. Snowbirds impress at the Borden Air Show.
News and views in and around Creemore
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CELEBRATING TRAILS
Clearview Township celebrated International Trails Day last Saturday by cutting the ribbon on the municipality’s newest section of trail, running along the old railway from Highway 26 to Station Park. It’s now possible to ride or walk by trail from Station Park all the way to Collingwood. On hand for the festivities were (at right) Councillor Thom Paterson, Councillor Roger McGillvray, CAO Sue McKenzie, Mayor Ken Ferguson, Angela Foulds (representing Simcoe-Grey MP Helena Guergis), Nathan Westendorp (representing Simcoe County), George Christie of the Collingwood Trails Network and Councillor Robert Walker. For more photos from Trails Day, see page 8.
Council looks at pay raise by Brad Holden After four years without a pay increase, Clearview Councillors are hoping to hear from the public before putting a remuneration policy in place that will prevent the next Council from having to deal with the touchy issue. Currently, the Mayor of Clearview Township earns an annual salary of $28,317, the Deputy Mayor makes $22,379 and Councillors earn $17,748. One third of each of those salaries is paid out as expenses, rendering that portion tax free. Those amounts have not changed since 2006, when the previous Council neglected to put a policy in place that would carry forward. If Council’s salaries had been subject to the same cost-ofliving adjustment as Township staff salaries have received over that period, the Mayor would now be making $31,948, the Deputy Mayor $25,249 and the Councillors $20,024. While admitting he was wary of broaching the sensitive subject, Councillor Shawn Davidson requested a staff report on remuneration at Council’s May 17 meeting, expressing his desire to deal with the situation before the end of the current term in September.
“It isn’t about the money,” he reiterated upon receiving the report Monday night, “but at the same time, if you want to attract good people, you need to offer fair remuneration.” The report, presented by CAO Sue McKenzie, referenced a recent exercise by Springwater Townsip, during which a Council Remuneration Ad Hoc Committee was established, consisting of a former Councillor and two local business owners, to review the level and method of Council remuneration during the 2010-2014 term of office. That committee surveyed 13 municipalities in the County of Simcoe, 10 with populations under 20,000, and recommended that Springwater remuneration be on the level of $31,543 for the Mayor, $24,087 for the Deputy Mayor and $19,106 for Councillors, and that these salaries be subject to the same annual cost-of-living adjustments as those of staff. Springwater also decided to include Council in the Township benefits package, including health and dental coverage, life insurance and enrollment in the Ontario Municipal Employees pension plan. In discussing the report, Councillors Thom Paterson and Doug Measures seemed keen to strike a committee here in Clearview, but others argued that Springwater had already done the work, and it was not necessary to reinvent the wheel. (See “Council” on page 3)
A GOOD OLD BARN PARTY
Photo Edward Henley
The New Farm hosted Fred Eaglesmith Saturday night for a well-attended fundraiser for The Stop Community Food Centre. For more photos, see page 6.
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