Longueuil Mayor Catherine Fournier is considering introducing salary caps for elected officials in her municipality to prevent city councilors from earning more than she does.
This happened last year when Longuille City Councilman Jonathan Tabarah received $202,313, $25,000 more than his boss.
This made him the third highest paid elected municipal official in Quebec.
For her part, Mayor Fournier received $188,759 for her duties.
“All of this is due to the fact that elected officials’ salaries are not capped [par Québec] in 2017,” explains Ms. Fournier.
Her predecessor, Sylvie Parent, became the highest-paid elected official in Quebec with a salary of almost $250,000 in 2020, ahead of even Prime Minister François Legault.
Decrease of $65,000
Faced with this absurdity, Catherine Fournier promised during the 2021 election campaign to reduce her salary as mayor. She reduced it by nearly $65,000 after her term.
“I admit that at that time we did not think that Jonathan's salary could have exceeded my salary due to the accumulation of responsibilities. It took him less than six months to realize this,” explains Ms. Fournier.
Lots of responsibilities
The mayor recalls that Mr. Tabarah was the only member of his team to have been a local councilor before 2021. He therefore took on many responsibilities, both in the city, the Longueuil agglomeration and in external authorities.
“It was quickly corrected when Jonathan realized the amounts could exceed my compensation. As of May 2022, he requested to stop receiving the compensation associated with his role as deputy mayor and resigned from the CMM [Communauté métropolitaine de Montréal]. »
If he had received the full salary associated with the deputy mayor position, Jonathan Tabarah would have been the highest-paid elected municipal official in Quebec in 2022.
Salary cap?
The fact that her right-hand man had to forego her salary of her own accord led Mayor Fournier to think about a salary cap, such as those already in place in the cities of Montreal and Quebec.
“Ideally it would be better if this were regulated by regulation. We are currently examining possible scenarios to avoid this situation in the future. An analysis of regulations in Montreal is being carried out. »
For now, Catherine Fournier assures that the situation has been resolved and that in 2023 she will be the highest paid elected official in her city.
“I can confirm that we have done our calculations and that this is how it will be,” she vows.
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