IQALUIT - Iqaluit Mayor Elisapee Sheutiapik likely won't be getting a raise anytime soon.

City councillors gave the cold shoulder to a motion that would have seen the mayor's office become a full-time position - despite the mayor's pleas that the job requires full-time work.

Iqaluit Mayor Elisapee Sheutiapik is seen here before the start of a city council meeting last week. Council shunned a motion that would have boosted the mayor's salary by $30,000. - Chris Windeyer/NNSL photo

"I guess you don't want discussion on this," a visibly disappointed Sheutiapik said after the motion died.

According to procedure, a motion must have a mover and a seconder before debate may begin. Coun. Jimmy Kilabuk, himself a former mayor, moved the motion, but no other councillor would back him up.

Sheutiapik's salary would have jumped to $70,000 per year from $40,000. The previous city council endorsed the measure.

Acting chief administrative officer John Hussey said the consensus was that a full-time salary would have generated more interest among potential mayoralty candidates. Sheutiapik ran unopposed in last October's municipal elections.

But deputy mayor Al Hayward said that same council should have passed a motion before the last election, so taxpayers could have had the chance to ratify the decision at the ballot box.

Hayward said it was "very unfortunate" that no councillors seconded the motion to allow debate, even though he could have done so himself.

"I wanted to see who was going to come forward and second it and I was very close to doing it myself but this is an issue that's at the heart of the taxpayers," he said, quickly adding his support for Sheutiapik's handling of the job.

As deputy mayor, Hayward lost out on a pay raise of $1,000 per year. The deputy mayor's position pays $8,000.

Also under the motion, councillors would have seen their salary bumped up to $7,000 from $6,000.

Councillors and citizen members of city committees also get a per diem of $100 per meeting.