Council gives a 2% raise to senior staff – Costs taxpayers $37,500.
We all know that the city has lots of money to waste spend. Well, Gary Sullivan and several other members of council seem to think so. He put forward a motion to award a 0.5 per cent salary increase retroactive to Jan. 1.
This comes after the previous council approved a two per cent raise for management staff in the 2008 budget. The original budget draft suggested a three per cent pay hike was in order for the city’s management employees, but the budget approved by council included a two per cent raise, which was said to represent a saving of $75,000.
Based on those figures, this week’s raise will cost taxpayers about $37,500.
Three councillors voted against this motion: Deputy Mayor Stephen Chase, Chris Titus, and Bill Farren.
Voting for this motion: Mayor Ivan Court , Carl Killen, Peter McGuire, Donnie Snook, Joe Mott, and Patty Higgins. Bruce Court was absent.
Higgin’s $8 daily user fee – An embarrassment to all residents.
Patty Higgins made a proposal to charge non-Saint John residents $8 per day to drive on the city’s roads, drink its water and use its bathrooms.
Under Higgins’ proposal – details of the plan were not presented – residents of outlying suburbs who work an average of 240 days a year would ante up $1,900 annually.
While mulling the proposal, other council members questioned the legality of the move, and Higgins conceded the city solicitor should first investigate whether a user fee could withstand the rule of law.
The frightening part is that only six (out of ten) councillors voted against this!
